The Kind of Weird You Wanted In Your Life
by WeBeTheCrew
Summary: After being best friends for more than 10 years, Andre and Cat finally decide to become a couple. Everything is perfect until a crush from Andre's past returns and becomes "friendly" with him. Terrible decisions causes tension between the couple and tragedy strikes at an inconvenient time. The only question is: Can happiness be found after all the dispair?
1. Never A Dull Moment When She's Around

**Chapter One: Never A Dull Moment When She's Around**

She couldn't help it.

She loved to flirt with him.

She couldn't control herself whenever she was near him.

Those bulging muscles, that charming smile, that amazing singing voice… it all just drove her wild.

He liked her a lot.

He found it cute when she would act silly.

He really wanted to be with her, but he didn't know how she felt about him.

That short redheaded girl with the cute smile, beautiful singing voice, and adorable laugh.

He wanted to be with her.

She wanted to be with him.

Why couldn't they just admit it to each other?

* * *

It was a very cloudy day.

Been like that for most of the week.

Andre Harris found himself dozing off during class.

He grew bored of listening about the mastering of facial expressions.

He was awfully glad that today was Friday.

Only problem was that it was 11 a.m. and he still had three tests to take.

_Riiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnggggg_

"Thank, God!" he thought, jumping quickly out of his seat and being one of the first out of the classroom.

* * *

On his way to the locker he ran into Robbie, who was looking really depressed.

"What's up, Robbie?" asked Andre.

Signing heavily, Robbie leaned against the lockers and said, "Rejected… again! And this time, the girl faked a heart attack just to get away from me."

Andre then remembered that he saw an ambulance leave the school earlier.

"Uhh, I don't think she was faking." said Andre, "There was an actual ambulance that left the school earlier."

"Well, that just make things much better." Robbie said, sarcastically.

"Cheer up, man. There are still plenty of fine girls that would go out with you." said Andre, even though he knew that Robbie practically asked 99.9% of all the girls that attended Hollywood Arts.

"I don't know. I just wish that one, just one girl would just agree to go out with me." said Robbie, gazing at the ceiling, "I know! What about Cat?!"

Hearing this instantly stopped Andre's heart.

Robbie… and Cat?

He really didn't like the sound of that.

But he really wanted to help Robbie. If he wasn't going to help him, who would?

"Cat? I guess she would go out with you." said Andre, hesitantly, "I mean, she already likes you."

Robbie started to look really hopeful.

Andre started to look really worried.

"Yeah! I gotta at least try to ask her out." Robbie said, "But… I really have to make sure that this works out."

Andre knew where this was going… and he hated it.

"Do you think you can help me ask out Cat?"

_Hell no! No! Don't even think about it! Robbie is a good friend but… I can't. I just can't._

"Sorry, but I'm going to be really busy for most of this week." lied Andre, "Really wish I could help but I can't."

Robbie began to once again look disappointed.

"Oh, okay, I guess I do need to do this by myself." he said, as he walked off.

* * *

Once Robbie walked away, Andre breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness." he said, "That was a close one."

"What was a close one?" said a voice behind him.

Andre was surprised to see that it was Cat standing behind him.

"Oh, nothing, just worrying about these tests that I have to take." he lied.

Cat leaned against the lockers and said, "You're not the only one that's worried. I've been up for most of the night trying to study, but my brother wouldn't stop making noises."

"What kind of noises?"

"Mooing. He's trying to see if he can talk to a cow that he bought."

"He bought a cow?

"Yeah, he keeps it in his room. It's quite friendly."

These kinds of conversations would normally weird out everybody else, but for Andre, he grew to love them.

He guessed that that was what really made Cat unique. She was weird but the kind of weird that you wanted in your life.

There was never a dull moment whenever Andre would hang out with Cat. And he liked it that way.

"So… are you doing anything this afternoon?" asked Cat, strangely avoiding eye contact.

"No, not really. I'm pretty much free once school's out." said Andre, "What do you have planned?"

Cat began to smile brightly, "Meet me at the front entrance of the mall at 4."

Andre was pretty stoked that Cat asked him out. Even if it was just as friends. Or was it? Andre didn't know. He was just happy to be spending time with Cat.

"You're not going to tell me what we're going to be doing?"

"No, it's a surprise. But you'll definitely love it."

* * *

Cat left Andre at his locker, walking backwards with a flirty-like smile on her face.

This really made Andre feel pretty great about this afternoon.

This could finally be the chance that Andre was hoping for. The chance for him to finally move things to the next level with Cat and him.

But then something came to his mind. Something that he really wished didn't bother him.

Robbie was already about to ask Cat out, and here Andre was about to take things to the next level.

He somehow felt kinda dirty for knowing that Robbie liked Cat but also wanting to get with her.

But then Andre thought of it this way: Cat and Robbie are friends but not close friends. Cat and Andre have been really close friends for almost 10 years.

Robbie just started to have a little crush on Cat. Andre been wanting to ask Cat out since 7th grade (for some reason, whenever he was single, she was in a relationship and vise versa.)

So why shouldn't Andre finally get with the girl that he dreams of being with?

Andre was nowhere near realizing the answer. He got the books that he needed from out of his locker and proceeded to go to his next class.

His second test of the day was about to start. A History test. But nothing related to what he studied was on his mind.

Cat was.


	2. Because of Mr Purple

**Chapter Two: Because Of Mr. Purple**

Staring at her reflection in her bedroom mirror.

She smiled.

It was less than 30 minutes before Cat Valentine was going to meet Andre Harris at the mall.

The excitement that she felt was difficult for her to contain.

She had actually gained the courage to finally ask Andre out!

Now all she had to do was hope that he would feel the same about her.

"You got this far. You asked him out. You just have to let him know how you really feel." said Cat, trying to encourage herself.

"You've known him for almost 10 years, you shouldn't be afraid to admit your true feelings to him." Cat continued, as she began brushing her hair, "Stop being nervous. Stop being nervous!"

"Are you okay there?" asked someone.

"Oh! Jade! Thank goodness you're here!" yelled Cat, rushing over to Jade and pulling her to her bed, "I really, really, really need your help!"

"I'm not helping you with your brother's cow." said Jade, sitting down.

"No, no, no! It has nothing to do with that." said Cat, sitting next to Jade and holding Mr. Purple, "I'm scared to tell Andre that I like him… a lot."

Sighing heavily, Jade said, "You have got to be kidding me! How can you be nervous? You've known him for most of your life. Just tell him."

"It's not that easy. What if he doesn't feel the same way about me?" said Cat, frowning and holding Mr. Purple tighter.

"Look… You can't let your fear get the best of you. If Andre doesn't like you that way, then it's his loss, not yours. If you really want to know if he likes you, then you have to go and ask him." said Jade, placing a hand on Cat's shoulder.

_Jade's right. I won't know whether or not he likes me, unless I ask him. _

As Cat sat there thinking, Jade noticed that she was clutching Mr. Purple tightly.

"Isn't that the same plush toy that Andre bought for you during that trip to the zoo?" Jade asked.

Looking down at Mr. Purple, Cat said, "Yeah, it is. He bought it for me just so I would stop crying. He wanted to make sure that I was happy."

* * *

Cat remembered that day all too well. It was about 2 years ago, and it was on a field trip to the zoo.

On the bus ride there, there was nothing but pandemonium on the bus. Spitballs flying, paper balls zooming around, loud chatter from the girls, disgusting belches from the boys; it was insane.

"This is ridiculous! It's like everyone is acting like a bunch of animals." said Jade, shoving a boy that bumped into her, "I don't know why I had to come on this trip."

"Come on, it'll be fun. We'll get to see the adorable little fishes, the funny monkeys and the cute little dolphins!" said Cat, excitedly.

"I'll tell you what would make this trip worthwhile; seeing a zookeeper being chased by a lion. Now that would be fun." said Jade, with a smile on her face.

"That doesn't sound so fun to me." said Cat.

"Me neither…" said Andre, listening in on the conversation, and turning around to face them.

Cat felt her heart jump; she couldn't believe that Andre agreed with her.

"…I would rather see a zookeeper attacked by a group of wild monkeys." laughed Andre, as Jade laughed along with him.

This made Cat frowned a bit.

"So, Andre, are you excited about seeing all the wild animals?" asked Cat.

"Yeah, kind of, haven't been there in years."

"Oh. Well, when we get there, do you want to go see my favorite zoo exhibit?"

_Please say yes! Please say yes! Please say yes!_

"Sure! Can't wait to see it." said Andre, turning back around in his seat.

* * *

Once Andre got into a conversation with some other guys, Cat squealed a bit. She could barely contain the excitement that she was feeling.

"Oh! I see what's going on." said Jade, with a sly look on her face, "You like him."

Cat was quick to denying this.

"No, no! He's just a friend. A really good friend."

"Mmhmm, a good friend that you wouldn't mind seeing shirtless."

This made Cat gasp; she knew that she would have like to see that.

"Stop it! I don't like him like that." said Cat, with a serious look on her face, "Now can you please stop?"

"Okay, fine, I'll stop; the truth will soon reveal itself." said Jade, folding her arms.

Would it? Would the truth ever be revealed? Cat hoped that one day it would.

* * *

After spending over 40 minutes on a tour of the zoo, the students were allowed to freely roam the zoo.

"So are you ready?" asked Andre, walking up to Cat.

"Sure, let's go!" Cat said, excitedly, as the two of them left their classmates.

* * *

Five minutes later, Cat and Andre arrived at Cat's favorite exhibit, _Tall Wonders of the Savannah. _

_So far, so good. Just keep calm and relax. _

All throughout the exhibit there were numerous giraffe related displays and a group of giraffes themselves.

"They're so tall, like really tall. Makes me wonder how they can balance themselves." said Andre, gazing at a family of giraffes.

"I know. But that what makes them so special." said Cat, "That what makes them one of my favorite animals."

Andre was about to say something, but quickly decided against it.

"What? What is it?" asked Cat.

"It's nothing."

"C'mon, tell me.

After thinking about it, Andre decided to tell Cat what he was going to say.

"Remember the first time we went to the zoo? We had to have been 7 or 8 and you was being picked on by those older kids-"

"And you told them to step off and leave me alone?" continued Cat, "How could I ever forget that day? Its one of the numerous of time that you've been there for me."

"Yeah, well, I did almost got jumped by those guys, but that's not the point." said Andre, "Anyway, I never regretted days like that happening, because... I like standing up for you. Making sure that you're okay. It's like a special moment to me."

"Me too." said Cat, blushing bright red.

The two of them could feel chemistry between them. It was going to happen.

Inch by inch, they moved closer to one another.

Till there were centimeters apart from each other.

Their lips were just about to touch when…

"Hey! Andre! What are you doing hanging out with Crazy Cat?" shouted a voice.

Andre and Cat immediately separated from one another to see that it was Thomas Elliot, one of their classmates.

"You know that Cat and I are best friends, Thomas." said Andre, standing in front of Cat, "And don't call her Crazy Cat."

"Why not? It's not like she has any feelings." said Thomas, walking over to Cat, "She's about as nutty as a fruitcake."

The look on Cat's face showed that she was about to cry.

"What's wrong? Is the Little Red Psycho Bitch about to cry?" asked Thomas.

This was crossing the line for Andre.

He pulled Thomas away from Cat and punched him straight in the jaw.

"What the hell?!" yelled Thomas, laying on the ground and rubbing him jaw.

"I'm only going to tell you once more. Get out of here. Now!" yelled Andre, as Thomas got up and ran out of the exhibit.

When Andre turned around to confront Cat, she was already gone.

* * *

Sitting in front of the monkeys exhibit, Cat slowly began to cry.

_Psycho. Crazy. Loony. Insane. Stupid. That's all they call me._

"I'm not crazy… I'm not a psycho… I'm just me." she said to herself, as she continued to cry.

"You also forgot to mention how wonderfully unique you are."

Cat looked up to see Andre standing next to her and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I looked everywhere for you." said Andre, with his hands behind his back, "I wanted to tell you that Thomas is a jerk and he doesn't even know how amazing you are."

Hearing this made Cat smiled a little. She was happy to hear Andre say this.

"I also wanted to give you this." Andre said, revealing a purple plush giraffe from behind his back.

Cat's face lit up as Andre handed her the giraffe.

"I love it! I really do love it!" said Cat, over joyously hugging Andre and kissing him on the cheek, "Thank you!"

"While I was looking for you near the gift shop I saw that and knew that it would be a perfect gift to you." said Andre, "So, what are you going to call it?"

Gazing at the purple giraffe, Cat came up with the first name on her mind, "Mr. Purple!"

Andre smiled and said, "That's cute."

At that moment, the rest of the class was getting ready to get back on the bus.

"C'mon, let's hurry up before the bus leaves us." said Andre, as the two of them ran to the bus.

* * *

Back on the bus and on the way back to school, Jade asked Cat, "So how did you like the field trip?"

"It was… fantastic." said Cat, smiling and holding on tight to Mr. Purple.

* * *

"So… are you ready for me to drive you to the mall?" asked Jade.

"Yeah, couldn't be any more ready." said Cat, confidently.


	3. Been Wanting To Do That For So Long

**Chapter Three: Been Wanting To Do That For So Long**

"You're gonna tell her everything: how you really feel about her, and that you want to be with her."

Andre stood at the entrance of the mall, waiting for the girl of his dreams to show up.

"She should have been here by now." thought Andre, as he looked at his phone and saw that it was almost 4:25.

"Maybe she's running late… or maybe something more important came up." he thought, "Or maybe she realized that this could lead to something serious… and doesn't think of me that way."

Andre began worrying, believing that he's been stood up.

He couldn't help it; he actually thought that he had the perfect chance this afternoon.

* * *

"4:54. That's it, I'm not waiting anymore." said Andre, as he walked out of the entrance.

"Wait! Don't go!"

To Andre's surprise, it was Cat running at top speed across the parking lot.

He had never seen Cat run like that before, which shocked him even more.

Nearly bumping into Andre, Cat began to talk, but stopped to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry… that I was… late." said Cat, panting heavily, "Jade… got pulled over… and got into argument with officer… had to run four blocks just to get here."

Andre couldn't believe what he was hearing. Of course he was worried about Jade fighting an officer, but to hear that Cat ran four blocks just to spend time with him… he was amazed.

"It doesn't matter, I'm just glad that you made it." said Andre, as he got a bottle of water out of the vending machine and gave it to Cat.

"Thanks." said Cat, gulping down the water.

"So… exactly what are we about to do?"

"Oh! What time is it?!"

"5:15."

"Good! We still have plenty of hours left. Get ready for the start of a great afternoon!"

Cat grabbed Andre's hand as the two ran through the mall.

* * *

Their first stop was at a clothing store, where they spent their time trying on hilarious clothes. Andre, himself enjoyed seeing Cat dress up in cute outfits.

"Damn, she looks good in that short skirt." thought Andre, as Cat twirled around in a short, yellow skirt.

* * *

Their next stop was at a sun-glass kiosk. Cat was trying on a pair that resembled two kittens on each lens.

"Why don't you try these on?" asked Cat, handing Andre a pair of white sunglasses that read "Smooth" across them.

Both laughed at how he looked once he tried on the glasses.

"I need to take a pic of this." laughed Andre, taking a picture of both of them wearing their glasses.

"You've gotta send me that pic." said Cat, taking out her phone, "I got to post that on the Slap."

"Sure." said Andre, sending the photo to Cat's phone, "So… are you hungry?"

"Yeah! But I'm paying." said Cat, as the two headed towards the food court, "Remember, I'm treating you to this fun afternoon."

* * *

Even though Andre hated not paying his share at the food court, he didn't want to see Cat get disappointed.

After spending the hours eating tacos, pizza, and ice cream; playing laser tag and riding go-karts at the nearest arcade; and watching a comedy flick at the movie theater, Andre and Cat were having the time of their lives.

* * *

"It's just turning 9. Are you ready to go home?" asked Andre, as they stood outside of the mall.

"No… there's one last stop that we have to make." said Cat, with a flirty look on her face.

_Oh man! Oh man! Exactly where could this be going? Just remember… stay calm._

* * *

Driving through the city, Cat and Andre arrived at a nightclub.

"_Green With Envy_? I heard of this club; don't you have to have a pass in order to get in?"

At that, Cat pulled out two sparkly green passes and smiled.

"How did you? When did you?" said Andre, completely astonished.

"My brother knows the guy that owns the club; these passes were originally his, but he was banned."

"Why? Wait… never mind." said Andre, remembering that it's Cat's brother they're talking about. It was bound to be something really, really weird.

"Shall we go in?" said Cat.

"Heck yeah!"

* * *

Once they showed their passes at the entrance, the two were astonished by how the club looked.

Everything green, black, and white! Flashing lights and amazing music.

Cat and Andre were definitely about to have the time of their lives.

All of a sudden a fast moving R&B song started playing.

"Oh, I love this song!" said Cat, as she began to dance close to Andre.

Andre liked this a lot. He could see that things were going beyond mere friendship.

As Cat's dancing slowly turned into grinding, Andre placed his hands on Cat's hips and danced along with her.

Things were getting pretty hot, both Andre and Cat could feel it.

Cat turned around to face Andre; she placed her arms around him.

As he looked into those pretty brown eyes, he noticed that Cat was standing on her tiptoes.

She inched closer… and closer… until their lips met.

They had to have been kissing for more than 3 minutes. They seriously could care less.

When they both stopped kissing, they were both smiling.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long." said Cat, blushing.

"Me too." said Andre, still holding onto Cat.

"How about we take this to some place… quiet?" Cat said, with a very seductive look on her face.

"I thought you'd never ask." said Andre, as the two left the club.

* * *

Going over to Andre's house (his grandma was out of town), the two entered the house and headed straight for Andre's room.

Once in the room, Cat pushed Andre onto his bed and jumped on top of him.

"Do you have any…" Cat asked, kissing Andre.

"Protection? Yeah, I have some."

"Good." said Cat, taking off her shirt, "Then we can continue this."

Taking off his shirt, Andre began helping Cat take off her bra.

It was like seeing a whole new side to Cat… and Andre loved it.

Once both of their clothes were off and Andre was "protected", Cat got on top of Andre and began to ride him.

Nothing sounded better to Andre than to hear Cat moaning.

She felt so good to Andre. He never expected it to be like this.

Flipping her over, Andre continued to go at it.

Those pretty eyes of hers made him want to please her even more.

"Wow that's good." moaned Cat, as she was trying to catch her breath.

This intense romantic escapade continued for more than an hour. It was just that wonderful.

As Cat rode on top of Andre, she began moving harder and faster.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" yelled Cat, digging her nails into Andre's chest, "I'm so close! I'm so close!"

Andre could feel Cat tightening up, he knew what was coming.

He grabbed her hips and began moving faster, "Come on! Come on!"

Cat then threw her head back and let out a piercing scream.

Andre could fell everything as he came along as well.

* * *

Cat collapsed on top of Andre, the two were breathing as if they were just underwater for hours.

"Wow." they both said, as Cat rolled over.

"That was… crazy." said Andre, still trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah." said Cat, with her hand on her head, "So… I guess this means that we're a couple now."

Those were words that Andre was happy to hear.

"Yeah… we're a couple now." he said, grabbing Cat's hand, "Which means I can say this, "I love you, Cat Valentine."

Cat began to smile, "I love you, too, Andre Harris."

The two then kissed each other and softly went to sleep, knowing that they were in each other's dreams.


	4. You Make All Of That Sound So Easy

**Chapter Four: You Make All Of That Sound So Easy**

"Morning, sleepyhead."

As Andre Harris opened his eyes, he was graced by the presence of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"Morning, cutie." he responded, as the two of them kissed.

Cat Valentine laid close to Andre, as he placed his arm around her.

"Last night was… well…" started Cat.

"Amazing? Breathtaking? Incredible?" said Andre, with a smile.

"How about all of the above?" Cat responded, as the two laughed.

No moment felt anymore perfect than what was going on.

Two, once lovelorn, teens finally together in a cozy embrace as the sun slowly rises.

It was _the _perfect moment.

_Brrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrg _

Cat's phone began vibrating.

Picking it up, Cat saw that it was Jade who was calling her.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?"

"Umm, I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Well, while you were busy doing whatever it is you're doing, I had to make an excuse for your mom… who wouldn't stop calling me!"

"What did you tell her?"

"That you were spending the night at my place and that you were already in a deep sleep."

"Thanks, I owe you one."

"You're damn right, you do."

"Okay, okay, I'll call you later, bye."

Ending the call, Cat quickly got out of bed…

Naked.

"I got a_ really_ nice view from where I am." said Andre, laying back on the headboard with his hands behind his head.

"Maybe later we could go for Round Two… if you're up for it." said Cat, gathering her clothes and going into Andre's bathroom.

"I'll be looking forward to that." said Andre, getting out of bed and putting his clothes on.

* * *

Once both of them were fully dressed, Andre offered to drive Cat over to Jade's house.

"I can walk there. I'm pretty sure you have other things to attend to."

"No, not really. Grandma won't be back for hours and it's the least I can do for… my girlfriend."

"Aww… okay, let's go."

* * *

Arriving at Jade's house, they noticed that Jade was throwing water balloons at the kids who were playing in the streets.

"Come over here again and you'll get a water balloon shoved down your throat!" she yelled, scaring a little boy.

"Classic Jade." said Andre, laughing.

"Well, I guess this is my stop."

"Wait, I have to ask you a question."

"Sure, what is it?"

Andre hesitated a little, but finally was able to ask his question.

"Do you think we should right away, tell the others about…"

"About us?"

"Yeah… especially Robbie."

"What does he have to do with us?"

"Well, you see… he kinda has a crush on you and he asked me to help him ask you out." said Andre, trying to find the right words, "And now I feel kinda bad, considering what has happened."

"But I asked you out. We went out. We had fun. We took things to the next level." said Cat, looking a little confused, "Are you saying that you regret it all?"

"No, no! It's just that Robbie has it hard enough finding a girl to go out with him." said Andre, trying to explain himself, "He had high hopes that you would say "yes"."

"All you have to do is explain yourself to him. Tell him the truth. Robbie's a smart guy, he'll understand. And then you can help him get with a girl from some other school. There are still plenty of fish in the sea and by that I mean, there are other girls beside those at Hollywood Arts."

"You make all of that sound so easy."

"If we want to make this relationship work, we have to be willing to face moments like this." said Cat, holding Andre's hand, "This is just our first test. We can get through this."

Hearing Cat talk to him like, Andre felt much better about telling Robbie, the truth.

"Yeah… we can get through this, together." he said, "I'll go visit him later and explain everything to him."

"Good." said Cat, smiling.

The two then kissed and Cat left to go talk to Jade.

* * *

"So… you was spending quality time with Andre." said Jade, throwing another water balloon at the kids.

"Jade… Andre and I are together."

"What took you guys so long?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been waiting for you two to get together for the past 2 years."

"Oh… well, why didn't you say anything?"

"I was waiting for you to tell me when you were ready. I'm glad to hear that the two of you are finally together, but there was no point in trying to force you to tell me… well, I could have done that, but I didn't."

"Aww, you do care!" said Cat, trying to hug Jade.

"Back off!" yelled Jade, throwing a water balloon at Cat.

"Whoooof!" sputtered Cat, soaking wet.

"You know I don't like to be hugged."

"Oh, okay." said Cat, walking over to the other side of the house.

As Jade sat back down under the shade, she was unaware of what Cat was doing.

"You thirsty, Jade?" asked Cat.

"No. I'm good."

"You sure? Because you look like you could use some water!"

Jade was suddenly doused with cold water from the water hose that Cat was holding.

"Ahh! You're so dead!" yelled Jade, grabbing more water balloons and throwing them at Cat.

"You're still looking a little dry over there." said Cat, avoiding being hit by the balloons.

"Come back here!" laughed Jade.

"You have to catch me first!" said Cat, spraying Jade with more water.

Two teenage girls. Completely different, yet forever best friends.

* * *

Later that evening, Andre paid Robbie a visit.

Just to get it over with.

_("If we want to make this relationship work, we have to be willing to face moments like this.") _

"You can do this. You have to tell him the truth." Andre said, as he got out of his car and walked over to Robbie's duplex.

"Hey, Andre." said a voice.

Looking around, Andre saw a figure sitting on the far side of the duplex.

"Robbie?" Andre asked, walking cautiously towards the figure.

"Yeah… it's me." said Robbie, solemnly.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh… ha ha, nothing."

Andre could see that Robbie was fiddling with his PearPhone.

As he got closer he could see that Robbie was looking at Cat's profile on the Slap.

It then hit Andre.

_("You've gotta send me that pic.")_

_("I got to post that on the Slap.")_

The pics of Cat and him… he forgot that she posted them on the Slap yesterday.

"Look… Robbie, I can explain."

"No, it's all good." said Robbie, standing up, "You're obviously much better at getting the girls than I am."

"It's not like that. If you would just listen-"

"Listen? I asked you to help me ask her out, not go out with her yourself!" said Robbie, "If you wanted her for yourself, then you should have told me from the start… I thought you were my friend. But it looks like I was wrong."

"Robbie, wait!" said Andre, following Robbie to his front door.

_**SLAAAAM!**_

"Robbie!" said Andre, as he could hear Robbie locking the door.

* * *

Walking over to his car, Andre felt his phone vibrate.

It was a text from Cat.

_{So, how did it go with Robbie?}_

"Perfect. Fucking perfect." he said, sarcastically.


	5. The Girl Named Fiona

**Chapter Five: The Girl Named Fiona**

"So… you and Cat? Together?"

Andre Harris was trying to catch up on his studies in the school's library, when Tori Vega decided to join him.

"I guess you've heard." he said, glancing at her.

"Yeah, apparently everyone is talking about it." said Tori, taking out her math book, "Even I was surprised by it."

"Well, I honestly don't care what other people think about our relationship." said Andre, not taking his eyes off his textbook, "Cat and I are happy together and that's all that matters."

"Whoa, I wasn't trying to start anything. It's just that I thought that it was just a friendship between you two." said Tori, trying to stay on Andre's good side.

Realizing how he was speaking to Tori, Andre apologized, "I'm sorry, it's just that… I'm tired of hearing people talk about us, as if its breaking news. And on top of that, there's Robbie, who hates my guts."

"What do you mean?"

After explaining to Tori about what occurred over the weekend, Andre began packing up his things.

"So Robbie's mad at you because you "stole" Cat from him?" asked Tori, "That's ridiculous. He only just started to like her. It's not like he's had a crush on for years. He was practically asking out any girl that wasn't dating anyone. So, you shouldn't feel bad about that."

"That's just the thing. I feel bad about this cause I didn't tell him right then that I liked Cat and that I wanted to ask her out as well." said Andre, slinging his book bag onto his shoulder, "I jumped at the opportunity when Cat asked me out and now that we're together, I don't regret it. But I can't seem to shake off the fact that I let Robbie down."

_*Andre's phone began ringing*_

"That's Cat, we're meeting up after school at the park, so I'll see you later." said Andre, glancing at his phone, "Good luck with that math test."

"Thanks, I need all the luck I can get." said Tori, opening her textbook to begin studying.

* * *

"The sky is so pretty today." said Cat, looking up at the bright blue sky, "And the clouds are so fluffy that I just want to reach out and touch them."

Andre smiled at this. What better way to spend the afternoon than to be laying under the cool shade and gazing up at the beautiful sky with your very lovely girlfriend.

He was living a dream.

"It really is pretty. It's like everything is at ease. All your worries are suddenly gone." said Andre, lost in his gaze of the clouds, "It's almost as if it's not real."

"But it is. That what makes it so wonderful." said Cat, grabbing Andre's hand, "As long as we're together, we'll have nothing to worry about. As long as we're together, it'll be as if we're lost among the clouds."

"I like the sound of that." said Andre, kissing Cat on the cheek, "It sounds perfect."

* * *

As they continued to lie in the grass and be at peace, a girl with long, luxurious brown hair walked up to them.

"Andre? Is that you?"

Sitting up, Andre realized who it was.

"Fiona? Fiona Mercer?! What in the world are you doing here?!" asked Andre, jumping up and hugging the gorgeous girl, "It's been years since you left."

As the two continued to hug, Cat slowly got up and began smiling uncomfortably.

_Who is this Fiona? How come I never heard of her before? How is she so darn gorgeous?_

Seeing Cat just standing there, Andre introduced the two to each other.

"Fiona, this is Cat Valentine, my girlfriend." said Andre, as Cat walked up to them, "Cat, this is Fiona Mercer, one of **the **best guitar players I have ever met and one of my oldest friends."

"Hi." said Cat, timidly.

"Hello." said Fiona, with such graceful elegance.

"Fiona and I used to be in the same advanced music program. If it wasn't for her, I would have never played the guitar." said Andre.

Cat remembered that Andre was in an advanced music program for playing the piano, but she didn't remember anything at all about a "Fiona".

"Wow, really?" said Cat, surprised, "I didn't know that."

"Andre's over exaggerating. I'm a good guitarist, but I'm not that good." said Fiona, modestly.

"Nonsense! You're one of the best." said Andre, smiling at Fiona, "And why didn't you tell me that you was coming back to L.A.?"

Cat didn't know what was wrong, but something about Fiona was bothering her.

Fiona was absolutely gorgeous!

Her long brown hair dazzled in the light of the setting sun.

Her olive complexion was stunning.

Those beautiful green eyes of hers were unreal.

And her curves… whoa, just whoa!

"I was going to call you, but I had forgot to transfer your number over to my new phone." said Fiona, taking out her phone, "Seems like a huge coincidence that I would bump into you."

_Yeah, a __**huge **__coincidence. _

Cat could slowly feel herself becoming more and more uncomfortable around Fiona.

_It's like she's perfect. Absolutely perfect. _

She then decided to just leave, so that she could get away from Fiona's stunning presence.

"Andre, I'm not feeling so good; I think I might be catching that bug that's been going around." lied Cat, rubbing her stomach, "I wish I could stay, but I really should go home and lie down."

"Oh, okay, I'll take you home." said Andre, looking worried, "Do you have a ride, Fiona? Cause I could give you a ride after I take Cat home."

_No! Why did you have to ask that?_

"My dad dropped me off earlier, but I could use a ride back to my hotel room." said Fiona, showing off her pearly whites.

_Hotel?! She lives at a hotel? _

* * *

"You live in a hotel?" asked Cat, as Andre helped her to his car.

"No… well, yes, for now." said Fiona, entering Andre's car, "My dad is looking for a house in the area to buy."

"So you're staying in L.A. permanently?" asked Andre, helping Cat with her seat-belt.

"Yes, yes I am." said Fiona.

"Cool, it'll be like the old days again." said Andre, getting in the car and starting it up.

_Ugh, now I really am feeling sick._

* * *

After sitting in the car and having to listen to Andre and Fiona's engaging conversation, Cat finally made it home.

"Are you still feeling sick?" asked Andre, as he walked with Cat to her front door, "I'll swing by later with some soup and medicine."

"Aww, thanks." said Cat, "I appreciate that."

Andre then moved in to kiss Cat, but Cat blocked him.

"I'm sick, I don't want you to catch it." she said, with her hand on his chest.

"Don't care. It's all worth it." said Andre, moving Cat's hand and kissing her on the lips.

Cat could feel such intensity from the kiss, that it almost knocked her off her feet.

"Whoa… I rather have more of that than icky medicine." said Cat, blushing.

Both of them laughed.

"Well, I should hurry up and take Fiona home. I promise to come back later." said Andre, going back to his car, "Get in bed and try to get some rest!"

* * *

As Andre and Fiona drove off, Cat stood there looking out the door.

She felt worried, even though she knew that she shouldn't be.

Andre and her have been together for almost three days.

And Cat was already experiencing jealousy.

Jealously of another girl.

A girl by the name of Fiona Mercer.


	6. No One Else Matters

**Chapter Six: No One Else Matters**

She ran with all of her might throughout the halls.

Looking for that one person that could help her.

She was in dire need of this person's expertise in the field by which she was interested in.

* * *

Cat Valentine, nearly ripping the door off its handle, entered the school's music room and grabbed the nearest guitar she could find.

"Teach me how to play the guitar!" she said, walking up to Robbie.

Robbie, still not over the fact that Cat and Andre were together, walked past her.

"Ugh! Robbie, you need to stop being such… such… an ass!" said Cat, shocking everybody in the room by the fact that it was the first time anyone has heard her cuss, "I'm sorry about how things have been for you, but you seriously need to let it go and move on!"

Just standing there thinking, Robbie realized that Cat was right.

"You're right. You're absolutely right." he said, grabbing his book bag, "But I can't teach you."

Growing frustrated, Cat asked, "Well, why not?"

"Cause that's a bass guitar you're holding." said Robbie, pointing at guitar, "And I'm late for my next class. Maybe next time."

* * *

Once Robbie had left the room, Cat sadly sat down at a table, still clutching the bass guitar in her hand.

"What's with the sudden interest in the guitar?"

It was Beck, who had just entered the room when Cat and Robbie were having their "dispute".

Sighing heavily, Cat said, "Because I want to impress Andre… and be able to play the guitar along with him."

"Oh, I see." said Beck, thinking for a bit, "Does this have anything to do with Fiona Mercer hanging out with Andre?"

"No!" said Cat, until she realized that she should be honest with herself, "Okay, yes. It's because of Fiona and her crazy guitar."

"Why exactly are you jealous of Fiona?" asked Beck, "Andre loves you; trust me, I can tell it."

"Even though Andre and I have known each other for years and have such a deep connection; Fiona and him have something… different."

"That's called friendship and it's mainly because of their love of music."

"Yeah, but the way that she behaves around him; the way he behaves around her. Have they ever express any kind of feelings for each other?"

Beck looked away for a second.

"What is it? What aren't you telling me?" asked Cat.

Beck sighed and answered, "When Andre first met Fiona… he developed a crush on her."

"I knew it!"

"But the feelings weren't returned. Fiona's rejected Andre several times."

Even thought this was good news to Cat, it wasn't good enough.

"What if those feelings have returned? We've only been together for more than two weeks. What if those feelings are just too strong? And Fiona is just so gorgeous, like a supermodel. I just don't feel pretty enough or talented enough to compete with her."

"Stop! Just stop it, Cat! Stop with the low self-esteem." said Beck, tired of hearing Cat lowering herself, "You are a very beautiful girl, simply adorable. And you're one of the best singers that this school has ever had. Why in the hell would Andre risk losing you, just to get with Fiona?"

Cat was glad that Beck was telling her this. She needed to hear this.

_Andre wouldn't do that to me. He wouldn't. He's not that kind of guy and he loves me, he really loves me. _

"You're right! I shouldn't feel threaten by Fiona." said Cat, standing up, "I'm Cat Valentine and I'm not losing my boyfriend to any girl! Thanks, Beck!"

Stomping out of the room, Cat slammed the door behind her, but returned shortly to put the bass guitar back where it was.

Chuckling softly, Beck said, "No problem, Cat. No problem."

* * *

Andre Harris had just got out of his Biology class, when Cat walked up to him.

"Lil' Red, are you ready to go-"

Cat kissed Andre passionately, not caring who saw them.

No one else matters except for Andre and Cat.

"Whoa! What was that for?"

"Nothing, just feeling pretty good right now." said Cat, with her hands on Andre's chest, "As a matter of fact, I'm up for a little something right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Meet me backstage at the auditorium in five minutes."

Andre looked shocked at what Cat was saying.

He loved what he was hearing, but was still shocked.

"Uh, what about class? We still have one class left to go to."

"Who cares?" said Cat, glancing at Andre with her seductive eyes, "Five minutes."

* * *

After Cat left, Andre ran to the restroom to check himself in the mirror.

"All good!" he said, as he ran out of the restroom, heading towards the auditorium.

* * *

It was empty.

Not a soul in sight. Like it normally is around this time.

Stepping onto the stage, Andre could hear faint movements.

Going behind the curtains, Andre was greeted to Cat laying back on top of a piano.

Andre could see that Cat was showing off her legs. Which he liked **a lot. **

_She sure does know how to turn me on._

"I've been waiting for you."

"I wanted to make sure that I was looking good." said Andre, sitting in front of the piano.

"You always look good to me." said Cat, turning over and kissing Andre.

As Cat slowly moved off the piano and onto Andre's lap, the two continued to kiss.

"Liking this so far?" she asked.

"Hell yeah."

"Well, you're about to like it even more."

* * *

Getting off of his lap, Cat led Andre to a dark area with lots of curtains.

Pushing him against the wall, she grabbed a pillow from one of the prop boxes and placed it on the floor in front of him.

As she kneel down on the pillow, she began to unbuckle Andre's belt and pulled of his pants.

"You're all mine, now." smiled Cat, looking deep into his eyes.

Andre threw his head back in pleasure, once Cat began to blow him.

"So worth skipping class for." he said, as Cat continued.

To Andre, it felt as if Cat was blowing him for hours. It was just that good.

* * *

"Come here." Andre said, helping Cat up.

As she began to take off her clothes, Andre continuously kissed her neck.

Completely naked, Cat helped Andre place the condom on.

"Safety first." giggled Cat, not "ha-ha giggle", but "cute, yet sexy giggle."

"I'm all yours." Cat said, leaning on the the wall with her hands pressed against it, as Andre got behind her.

Both began breathing heavily, the intensity of each stroke was mind numbing.

Cat had a hard enough time holding back her moans and squeals.

Andre found it difficult to hold back from going faster and harder.

Things went nice and slow in the beginning, as both of them enjoyed the sensation.

* * *

"Lie down." said Andre, placing a blanket on the floor.

As Cat laid down, Andre got in between her legs and kissed every inch of her thighs.

Cat began making faint squeaking noises, once Andre began eating her out.

Gripping the covers, Cat could barely contain her excitement.

_This is insane! Nothing should ever feel this good. Nothing!_

* * *

After Andre had some fun down below, he turned Cat on her side and they began to spoon.

With each stroke, things got faster and faster.

Cat began to climax and was now covering her face with a pillow. Her screams muffled out mostly.

The more and more things went, the more Andre felt himself build up until…

"Fuck!" he muttered quietly, as he climaxed and collapsed next to Cat.

* * *

They had to have laid there for more than 10 minutes.

Completely exhausted.

Fully satisfied.

It was **definitely **worth skipping class for.

They got up quickly to get dress once they heard the school's out bell.

"I liked that a lot." laughed Andre, putting his shirt back on.

"Me, too." said Cat, placing her skirt back on, "I definitely needed that."

"Just remember, as long as I have you, I have everything that I need." said Andre, holding Cat in his arms.

Cat couldn't help but shed a tear, "You'll never have to worry about losing me. Cause I love you too much to let anything or anyone tear us apart."

The two of them kissed one last time and left the auditorium to go home.

Hand in hand.

Knowing that they would always be there for each other.


	7. Happy Anniversary!

**Chapter Seven: Happy Anniversary!**

Cat Valentine woke up that morning feeling invigorated.

As the sun shined through her window, she could not help but have a smile on her face.

"To think that it's been four months! Four months!" said Cat, happily getting out of bed, "Four month anniversary!"

For the past four months, Cat and Andre's relationship has been pretty great…

Or so Andre thought.

* * *

Nearly four months ago, Fiona Mercer had begun attending Hollywood Arts, and Cat was none too pleased.

Week after week, Fiona's popularity had grown to the point where every guy wanted to be with her.

But could you blame them?

Fiona was smoking hot! Like seriously!

…

Okay, okay. Sorry, I'll focus on Cat.

* * *

But Cat knew that there was only one guy that Fiona wanted to be with.

Her boyfriend.

Even though Beck had told her that Fiona had constantly rejected Andre, Cat knew that Fiona's feelings had changed.

She could tell from how Fiona started to behave differently when she was around Andre.

What used to be friendly gestures, reminiscing the past, and mainly talking about music; became disguised flirting, and numerous double entendres.

Cat had hoped that Andre would see the signs… but he didn't.

Andre was a guy after all, but was he really that blind?

* * *

"Everything is going to go great today." said Cat, as she got ready to leave for school, "Just me and Andre. No Fiona at all."

**Honk! Honk!**

It was Andre standing by his car, waiting for Cat to come out.

"Nothing can go wrong, Cat. Nothing can go wrong." she said to herself.

As she ran outside, Andre greeted her with a kiss.

"I gotta have at least one kiss in the morning for my day to start off right." he said, as he walked Cat to the other side of the car.

"Aww, same here." said Cat, as Andre opened the door for her, "Can't wait to see who's starring in my play?"

"Of course. The play that you wrote was really good." said Andre, getting in the car, "But something about it seemed familiar."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, it reminded me of how we got together."

"You don't say. Really?" asked Cat, with a smile on her face.

"Glad to see that our relationship made such a great story." said Andre, as they drove off.

"I'm still shocked that it was chosen to be this month's school play." said Cat, turning up the radio and flipping through the channels, "I just hope that I've chosen the right people to play the parts."

As she continued to flip through the stations, the song "Beautiful" by Snoop Dogg began playing.

"I love that song, keep it there." said Andre, as he began to sing along.

_Beautiful… I just want you to know, you're my favorite girl…_

Cat began to blush. She loved it when Andre sang to her.

What girl doesn't love it when their boyfriend sings to them? Especially if the guy can really, really sing?

_See I just want you. To know that you are really special... Ohh why, oh why, oh why, oh why…_

Cat really did feel special.

She had an amazing boyfriend.

Her script was chosen to be this month's school play.

And Cat hadn't heard any mention of Fiona in the last three days.

_The least I hear of Fiona, the better. _thought Cat, as the song ended.

* * *

Once they arrived at the school, Cat reached into her book bag and pulled out a rectangular box.

"Happy Fourth Anniversary!" she said, smiling brightly.

"What's this?" asked Andre, as Cat handed him the rectangular box.

Unwrapping the paper and opening up the box, Andre was surprised to see a pendant with a reddish gold, half dollar sized guitar ornament attached to it.

Taking it out of the box and examining it, Andre said, "Cat, I love it! I seriously love it! But why only celebrate our four month anniversary?"

"Cause I like the number four." said Cat, looking innocent, "Look at the back of it."

As he looked at the back of the ornament, there were several words engraved on it.

Here's to another four months of happiness!

Cat & Andre 4Ever

"Wow, this is great." said Andre, placing the pendant around his neck, "There… it looks nice on me."

"But that's not all." said Cat, pulling out the reddish gold giraffe pendant from around her neck, "I have one, too!"

"Sweet!" said Andre, holding the giraffe ornament in his hands, "I like the matching colors and the giraffe… wait, giraffe and guitar? I get it!"

* * *

Andre realized the full meaning behind the pendants.

The reddish gold color symbolized the sunset at the beach that the two saw during their first actual date as a couple.

Andre remembered that Cat continuously marveled over how beautiful the sunset was and how she wanted to remember that moment forever; plus she sort of wished that her hair was that color.

The giraffe, of course, symbolized Mr. Purple, the plush toy that Andre bought to calm Cat down years ago.

And the guitar symbolized the sky blue acoustic guitar that Cat bought Andre for his birthday. The same guitar that Andre plays for Cat, while they sit on the roof of her house at night.

Yeah, they actually do that.

Cat loves sitting on her rooftop during the night. She finds it relaxing. Thank goodness she lives in a house with a flat roof.

* * *

"Yes, all of that is true!" said Cat, after Andre explained what the pendants meant.

After this, Andre began looking sad.

"What's wrong?" asked Cat.

"I feel bad for not getting you anything for our anniversary." he said, holding on to his pendant, "And your birthday isn't for six more months."

Cat hadn't thought out that Andre might not remember that today was their anniversary.

After all, they didn't celebrate for their first, second, or third anniversary.

Who would have thought that four would be the lucky number?

"But don't worry. I think I know of a good way to celebrate our anniversary." said Andre, as he took the keys out of the ignition, "I promise you, this anniversary is going to be special."

"Awww!" said Cat, leaning in to kiss Andre, "Have I told you that I love you?"

"Everyday." said Andre, as they continued to kiss.

* * *

It eventually got to the point where Cat got a little bit carried away.

Crawling over the center console and sitting on Andre's lap, she playfully continued to kiss him.

"Cat! Cat! Hold on! We're in the school parking lot. Someone could see us." said Andre, pulling away from her as he saw some students walk by.

"Come on, you're not in the mood?"

"I'm in the mood, alright. But class is about to start."

"We've got about ten minutes till class start…"

"Yeah?"

"So why don't we just make out a bit till we have to go?"

Andre chuckled and said, "Okay, but let's try to at least keep most of our clothes on."

"Deal." said Cat, as they went back to kissing.

* * *

And so they went on making out. Not the full blown romantic kind of making out, but the playful, all around fun kind.

With each kiss, Andre could instantly smell the fragrance that Cat wore.

"Wow, you sure do smell good." said Andre, as Cat kissed his neck.

"Thanks, it's called _Frisky Thoughts_." said Cat, throwing back her hair, "You like it?"

"Love it." said Andre, as he smiled and began feeling on Cat's thighs.

"Ooh, I like the feel of that."

"So do I."

* * *

But before the two could carry on with their early morning activity, someone knocked on their window.

**Knock! Knock!**

"Fiona?!" said Cat, as she hopped off of Andre's lap.

Stepping out of the car, Andre straighten up his clothes and fixed his hair.

"Umm… we didn't expect anyone to catch us." he said, as Cat tried to fix herself up, "H-how are you today?"

"I came by to see if you were ready for the announcement of who starring in Cat's play." said Fiona, as the sun glistened through her hair, "And you seriously need to work on not getting caught making out in your car."

"We're working on it." said Cat, feigning a smile.

Cat hated smiling whenever Fiona was around… vomiting felt much better.

"So are you ready to go to class?" asked Fiona.

"Sure, we got less than 3 minutes." said Andre, grabbing his book back from the back seat, "Sorry that I can't walk with you to class."

"It's okay." said Cat, as Andre kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay, see you at lunch." said Andre, as Fiona and he left for their first class.

Cat hated that she only had three classes with Andre, while Fiona had five.

It seemed unfair.

If made Cat feel as if Fiona had a huge advantage over her.

* * *

Looking at her phone, Cat saw that she had missed the first 15 minutes of class.

She simply sighed and thought, _I need to talk to Jade; she should be in the library right now. _

* * *

When Cat entered the school's library, she immediately saw Jade sitting in the far right corner. She was completely focus on reading her book while having her music blaring loudly through her headphones.

"What do you want?" said Jade, as Cat pulled out a chair to sit across from Jade.

Cat could see that Jade was turning down her volume, yet still focused on her reading.

"It's about me and Andre."

"What about you two?"

Cat hesitated a bit, but finally spoke out.

"It's Fiona… I… hate her so much." said Cat, tearing up, "She just won't quit…"

Jade could see that there was something wrong with Cat, so she turned off her music and closed her book.

"Cat… are you okay?"

"No… no, I'm not." said Cat, crying, "I can just tell that Fiona wants to be with Andre… but he just can't see it. If you could just see how she behaves around him… and whenever she talks to me, it's like she's trying to make me act out in front of Andre."

Jade was really surprised to hear Cat talking like this. For the past months, she always thought that things were going smoothly with Cat's relationship.

"And if she sees Andre talking to me in the hallway or classroom or wherever, she'll interrupt us or jump into the conversation. Like this morning, we were… making out in the school parking lot and look who comes knocking."

"Fiona." said Jade, looking concerned.

"Mmhmm, but it's not just Fiona… it's myself and Andre as well." said Cat, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I've asked him before if he ever felt like Fiona was flirting with him. All he would ever say was that she was being really friendly and that's how she always was."

"So what did you say after that?"

"What could I say? That I believed that Fiona was trying to get with Andre? That I believed that Andre was blind to Fiona's advances?" said Cat, as she paused for a second, "That I've been manipulating Andre to make sure that he stays with me?"

"What?!" said Jade, now looking crossed, "Explain… Now!"

* * *

Sighing heavily, Cat explained about how she pretended to be sick in order to get away from Fiona and how she used this "sickness" to draw Andre from Fiona; how she would sometimes lie about needing help with something in order to keep Andre away from Fiona; and more importantly, how she would sometimes use sex to make sure that Andre stays with her.

* * *

Hearing all of this, Jade looked very disappointed.

"I can't believe this… I can't believe that you would do that." said Jade, You used sex… sex! Just to keep Andre from becoming interested with Fiona?"

"I had no other choice."

"No other choice? Why not sit down with Andre and tell him how you really felt about his friendship with Fiona. Tell him that you felt uncomfortable around her. Tell him that you felt that he was ignoring the signs that Fiona was flirting with him. You could have done all of that and more… but instead you pretend to be sick, lie to him, and use sex just to keep him away from her."

Cat held her head down as Jade continued to scold her.

She knew all of what Jade was saying was true, she just hated that she couldn't do anything to erase it all.

"You do know what you have to do now?" asked Jade, still looking upset.

"What?" said Cat, looking up.

"Tell Andre the truth. Everything. Every little detail about what has happened the past four months."

"But today is our anniversary… I couldn't do that today."

"I don't give a fuck! You let this drag on for to long and now you have to clean it up." Jade said, in a hushed tone, as she got her books together and left the library.

* * *

As Cat sat there, the bell rang.

She knew that the right thing to do was to tell Andre the truth.

But how could she?

_He'll hate me… I ruined our relationship… How could I have let things go so wrong?_

Cat began to cry again as she laid her head down on the table.

She knew she had to tell him the truth.

She was just too scared of what would happen.


	8. Old Feelings Are Nothing But Trouble

**Chapter Eight: Old Feelings Are Nothing But Trouble**

_{Meet me in the library.}_

Was the text that Andre Harris had just received.

He wondered exactly what Cat had wanted to tell him.

_Guess I could skip my next class. _he thought, as his first class ended.

* * *

As he left the classroom, he was stopped by Fiona.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Uh, I gotta check out something in the library." he said, continuing to walk past her, "I'm gonna be late for class, so I'll see you then."

"Okay?" said Fiona, with a questionable expression.

* * *

When he arrived at the library, he caught no glimpse of Cat anywhere.

"Hey, have you seen Cat anywhere?" Andre asked a girl, who was trying to study.

"Yeah, I saw her upstairs, sitting by the windows." said the girl, as she went back to studying.

"Thanks."

* * *

Going upstairs, Andre looked around for Cat and finally found her sitting on the couch by the windows.

The look on her face instantly made Andre realize that Cat was sad about something.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, as he sat next to Cat and held her in his arms.

Cat was silent for awhile, trying to find the right words to say to Andre.

"C'mon, Cat. What's been bothering you?"

Cat swallowed hard and then began to speak.

"I have to tell you something… something that's been going on for the past four months."

"Well… what is it?"

Cat sighed heavily and continued.

"It has to do with Fiona… Do you honestly believe that she has no feelings for you at all?"

Andre sighed and wondered why Cat was bringing this back up.

"We talked about this before; she just sees me as a friend." said Andre, "Why are you so worried about that?"

"Cause I believe that she's trying to get with you." said Cat, sitting up, "You seriously can't tell from all of the flirting and from the way that she touches you? Her feelings have changed. She's likes you more than just a friend."

"No, she doesn't."

"You only think that because she rejected you years ago." said Cat, "But things have really changed with her. From the way that she talks to you, acts around you, and touches you. She even interrupts us whenever we're together and she's nearby. She's interested in you. And I feel threaten by it."

Andre slowly began to realized that Cat was speaking the truth.

When Fiona rejected him 3 times, he finally decided to move on.

He did however noticed that Fiona was acting a bit different lately, but he ignored it. This was simply because he saw nothing of it.

_She rejected me over and over again, there was no reason for her to be flirting with me_. _I just… ignored her; simply thinking that she was being really affectionate, in a friendly way. I mean, we haven't seen each other in years and we were bound to become close friends again. The problem was that I misunderstood what was happening. Which lead to my own girlfriend… feeling threatened by another girl._

"Why didn't you tell me that you felt threaten by Fiona?" asked Andre, looking concerned.

"She was a close friend of yours, and I didn't want you to know that I was jealous; especially that early in our relationship."

Andre looked as if he was unraveling some great mystery.

Was he seriously that blind to Fiona's advances?

"But that's not all." said Cat, as she held her head down, "I let my jealousy get the best of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember back when I was "sick"? Around the same time when Fiona first showed up?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, I lied… I felt intimidated by her; she was so beautiful and gorgeous and both of you had a common interest." said Cat, "So I lied about being sick, just so I could get away from her and so you could stay and take care of me."

Andre just sat there, quiet. He didn't know that so much was going on, and to have it all revealed to him at once… it left him speechless.

"There were other times, like when I asked you to help me with my math homework or drive me all the way to Bakersfield for a festival that wasn't real or help me paint my room, that I would just ask you to help me with something just to keep you from spending time with her."

"Anything else?" asked Andre, looking away from Cat.

"Yeah… there were times… when I would have sex with you, just so you would stay with me."

"What?!" asked Andre, looking surprised, "Seriously?"

Cat simply nodded her head, holding back her tears.

"All because of Fiona?" he whispered, "So… the sex… it was nothing but a tool to keep me with you?"

"No! It was all real. Every time that we had sex, it was all real. I just… I just wasn't thinking clearly. I should have came to you and talked about this instead of keeping things a secret." said Cat, in a hushed tone, as some students walked past them, "I just felt like I was slowly losing you to her and I became desperate. And I hate myself for it."

Andre just sat there, with his fingers folded and looking straight ahead, in silence. He had a lot on his mind.

_If I would have just paid attention… I could have prevented all of this from happening. She was so worried about losing me that she went to desperate measures just to make sure that I wouldn't leave… *sighs* I'm not gonna lie, I'm mad at what has happened. But what can I do?_

Cat didn't say a word, either. She simply sat there and prepared for the worse.

But when Andre didn't say a word, she thought that it would be best to break the silence.

"Do you hate me?"

Andre remained silent. He just sat there, with his hands covering his face.

Cat slowly began to cry again, as she feared that it was over.

"Andre… I am so sorry that all of this had to happen. If I could erase it all, I would." said Cat, as she placed her hand on Andre's knee, "I was just so scared to lose you… but in the end, I messed things up myself. *sighs* So if our relationship ends here, I want you to know one thing… and it's that I love you. Always and forever."

She could no longer hold back her tears and slowly got up from the couch.

As Cat started to walk away from Andre, she felt someone grab her arm and turn her around.

It was Andre, who immediately kissed Cat with every bit of emotion that he had within him.

As he kissed her, Andre could feel Cat's tears graze against his face.

"I thought you hated me." said Cat, as Andre held her, "I thought it was all over."

"I could never stop loving you, Cat. It's impossible." said Andre, looking deep in Cat's eyes, "Besides we all make mistakes, and that's something that we've both done these past months. What really matters, is that we both forgive, forget, and learn from our mistakes."

Cat couldn't believe what she was hearing.

More than a minute ago, she had thought that her relationship with Andre was over.

Yet here she was, smiling and crying at the same time.

"I actually thought that we were going to break up on our anniversary." said Cat, with a relieved look on her face.

"No, we're not breaking up. Just think of it as us celebrating our anniversary with a clean slate." said Andre, "I believe everything that you've told me about Fiona. I just hate that I couldn't see it sooner."

"That doesn't matter now; just as long as you believe and forgive me for what I've done." said Cat.

"Just as long as you forgive me as well." said Andre, as they hugged once again.

**Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!**

* * *

Looking around, Andre and Cat could see that everyone on the top floor of the library were looking at them.

"Uh… sorry for disturbing you guys… we'll just be going." said Andre, as he and Cat left from the top floor of the library.

She felt relieved that all of that was over. It was as if someone had removed a boulder off of her back.

She had told Andre the truth, admitted that she was jealous of Fiona and that she felt threatened by her, and in the end, Andre realized that she was telling the truth about Fiona.

_I definitely can't let something like this happen again. Instead of lying and trying to manipulate the guy that I love, I should be more upfront with what's bothering me. I seriously learned my lesson._

* * *

As the two walked down the hall, Fiona walked up to Andre and said, "Congrats! We both have the main leads!"

"What?" asked Andre, confused.

"The roles have been posted up and the two of us have the main leads!" said Fiona, excitedly.

Cat was really confused by what was happening. When she assigned the roles for her play, she had chosen Tori and Beck to play the parts of Catherine and Drew, not Fiona and Andre.

"Who changed the roles?" asked Cat, "The leads were supposed to go to Beck and Tori."

"How should I know?" said Fiona, as she grabbed Andre's arm, "I've got the script, so let's go practice!"

As Andre was being pulled away by Fiona, he says to Cat, "Don't worry, I'll talk to her."

_I hope so. _Cat thought, as she went to find out exactly how Fiona and Andre got the leads.

* * *

Fiona led Andre to a secluded room and closed the door behind them.

"This is going to be so great!" said Fiona, as she sat on top of the desk that Andre was sitting at.

"Fiona, I have to ask you-" said Andre, as Fiona continued to talk.

"Do you remember when we had to do that musical and I forgot most of my lines?"

"Fiona, seriously, we need to-"

"Hopefully that won't happen this-"

"Fiona! Will you please be quiet for one minute?!" yelled Andre, as Fiona stopped talking.

He sighed heavily and got up from the desk.

"Fiona… do you like me?"

"Of course." said Fiona, as she tried to understand where Andre was going.

"I'm sorry, I didn't say that right. I meant to ask… Do you like me more than as a friend?"

Fiona started to turn red and say, "Andre… uh, we should really start reading this script."

"The script can wait. Just answer my question."

"Why are you asking this?"

"Let's just say that I'm starting to see things in a whole new light."

Fiona flung the script onto another table and began walking around the room.

* * *

Looking out of the window, she said, "So… you caught me. I've got a crush on you."

"What changed? Cause years ago, I was just some guy who was only a friend in your eye." said Andre, walking over to Fiona.

"I matured, simple as that." she said, with a smile on her face, "After being with the guys I've been with… it was like there was nothing there but looks, looks, looks. There was no personality. No thought whatsoever."

"But when my dad told me that we were coming back to L.A… I immediately thought of you. I remembered that guy that asked me out over and over again and I smiled." continued Fiona, looking at Andre, "If you only knew how excited I was when I saw you at that park; I have never been that happy before."

Andre could see that Fiona was starting to cry.

"I have to admit, I wasn't surprised to see you with another girl. You was always the ladies man." she said, as she smiled a bit, "Cat is so lucky to be with you. I just want to know that."

"Yeah, unfortunately Cat detected your crush long before I was able to." said Andre, "It even got to the point where she was threaten by our friendship."

"I'm so sorry that she felt that way." said Fiona, "But that's the thing with our friendship, it was so special. It was one of a kind."

"It was one of a kind. A friendship that I once thought could become something more." said Andre, walking over to the other side of the room and grabbing a book off of the shelf, "But times has changed. I'm with Cat now and I really love with her."

"I know. I know… but does that mean that all of those old feelings are gone?"

* * *

Andre began to feel strange. He began remembering those days of learning how to play the guitar and playing the piano alongside with Fiona.

He couldn't help it. During those days, he still considered Cat to be just his best friend, Fiona was kinda his first crush, and there was a lot of nostalgic feelings that were rushing back in.

"Those feelings are never gone." said Andre, as Fiona walked up to him, "I wanted to be with you so much during those days and it hurt so much when you kept rejecting me."

"I was stupid back then and I will always regret that." said Fiona, "But these feelings that I have now… they won't go away easily."

"Why couldn't you have been like this years ago? When I was single?" asked Andre, placing the book down on the table, "You have such horrible timing."

"How about now?" asked Fiona, as she shocked Andre by kissing him.

Shocked at first, Andre strangely began to slowly ease into the kiss.

Those old feelings he had for Fiona were taking over.

But out of the depths of his mind, something awoken him.

_Stop! Stop kissing her! Remember Cat! Cat Valentine! Your girlfriend. The one who was crying out to you earlier! Remember her, you dumbass! Remember her!_

* * *

As he suddenly realize what was happening, he quickly pushed away from Fiona.

Too bad there was already someone else in the room.

* * *

"Andre?" asked a teary voice.

"Cat…" said Andre, as he saw a teary eyed Cat standing at the door, "Listen, I can expl-"

But before Andre could finish his sentence, Cat took off running down the hall and out of the building.

"Cat, wait!" yelled Andre, as he went after her.

But Cat ran too quickly. Andre could see no sign of her anywhere outside.

"Dammit!" yelled Andre, kicking someone's car and running off to look for Cat.

She had to have been somewhere.

Anywhere.

He only hoped to find her and somehow explain everything to her.

He felt so stupid.

He learned from one mistake, but wound making another.


	9. His Little Ray Of Sunshine

**Chapter Nine: His Little Ray Of Sunshine**

"C'mon, c'mon! Please pick up."

Andre frantically paced back and forth near his car as he called Cat for the fourth time.

He looked everywhere, but couldn't find her at all.

_For such a short girl, she sure could run fast. _

* * *

Andre spent nearly an hour and a half driving through the city; desperately searching for any sign of his girlfriend.

As he arrived at the park, the thoughts of what happened earlier haunted him.

"_Andre…"_

_That look on her face… how could I have let this happen?_

_As soon as Fiona said that she had a crush on me… those old feelings burned through._

It was like being denied a toy over and over again, and then finally having a chance to have that toy.

Okay, I know, that example sucks. But you get my point, anyway.

* * *

_And now Cat is somewhere out in the city… heartbroken. Ugh, I'm such an ass! A fuckin' ass!_

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he yelled, as he angrily hit the steering wheel, causing the horn to honk.

_I've got to try and fix this. I've got to find her. She needs to know that it was a huge mistake._

* * *

Walking around the park and searching for some sign that Cat was there, Andre suddenly noticed that his phone was ringing.

It was Cat.

He immediately answered it and said, "Cat… I hate that this had happened. Can you please tell me where you are so that we can talk about this?"

"Why bother? You still have feelings for her."

"No… I love you, and only you. Whatever I had with Fiona is not anywhere near as important as what I have with you."

"Then why did you kiss her?"

Andre sighed and said, "She kissed me first, but I went along with it. It's just that… she was my first crush and to finally have her say that she liked me back…"

"So you easily forgot about me."

Andre hated that she was true.

"For only a second, but then I realized what I was doing and I pushed her away."

"You say that like it makes a huge difference, as if I'm supposed to just easily forgive you for this." said Cat, sounding more and more upset, "Don't get me wrong, I know what I've done the past months was wrong, too, but… for you to let her kiss you. I think it's obvious what has happened."

"And what is that?"

"You still have deep feelings for her; so deep that you didn't even stop her from kissing you immediately." said Cat, tearing up, "I guess that this was unavoidable in the first place."

"Cat…"

"I loved you, so much… that I tried to keep us together when I saw that Fiona would be a threat, but in the very end… I failed." said Cat.

"Don't say that, we can still work things out."

"Work things out?! We were trying to do that earlier, remember? But then this had to happen."

"And I hate myself for letting this happen. I really do. I was stupid. So very stupid. I let the feelings for an old crush overrun my feelings for you, my own girlfriend."

Cat scoffed and said, "Andre… if you won't say it, then I will. Until you can decide on who you want to be with… we're taking a break."

Those words shook both Cat and Andre. They never thought that they would say or hear those words from each other.

"Cat…"

"It's for the best… bye."

* * *

As Cat immediately hung up on Andre, she began to cry.

It turns out that she was sitting in a café on the other side of the city.

Far from where Andre or anyone else would be able to find her.

Not caring who saw her, she continued to cry.

She hated to say that to him. She hated to say all of that to him.

But that image of him kissing Fiona… it was too much for her.

She saw how much Andre was into it.

Sure, after awhile he did push away from Fiona.

But Cat could tell that he liked the kiss, so clearly his heart was not completely devoted to her.

_Maybe if I didn't tell him that Fiona had liked him… but he needed to know the truth… and look where that has got us… completely heartbroken. _

A waitress walked up to Cat, gave her a napkin, and asked her, "Are you okay?"

Wiping away her tears, Cat sniffled and said, "I'm fine. Peachy keen."

"Well… okay." said the waitress, as she went on to service the other customers.

* * *

As she left the café, Cat felt lost as she walked down the street.

Nothing felt right at all.

She had just told her boyfriend the truth about what had been going on the past months.

She had just saw her boyfriend kiss his former crush.

And she and her boyfriend were now taking a break.

Great way to spend your fourth anniversary.

_I miss Andre already. I miss him a lot, but taking a break was necessary… for both of us. He needed to figure out whether he wanted to be with me or Fiona, and I needed to work on my insecurity… especially someone like Fiona._

* * *

Continuing to walk down the sidewalk, Cat pulled out her giraffe pendant.

As she rubbed the pendant, she thought, _Hopefully one day we'll get back together… No lying… No Fiona… Just us…_

She continued to walk throughout the city.

Lost.

Confused.

Heartbroken.

* * *

He just sat there. Under a tree. Hours after his conversation with Cat.

Still in disbelief of what had happened.

Better to be "taking a break" than "breaking up".

_But taking a break could eventually lead to breaking up. Especially if you screw things up and don't learn from your mistakes… and that's exactly what I can't afford to do. I took my relationship for granted and ended up hurting the one girl that I truly love… all for a crush. Ha, some boyfriend I am. _

The sun was beginning to set, yet Andre could not make himself move an inch.

He slowly pulled out his guitar pendant and began thinking again.

_At first I thought that I would be able to be friends with Fiona and still be with Cat… but after… after that kiss, I have to cut ties with Fiona. She's been a good friend, but when it comes to whose more important, Cat always comes out on top. I just hope that one day, she'll believe me._

* * *

Just then, Andre's phone began to ring.

It was Beck.

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Andre.

"Hey, have you seen Cat lately?"

"No, the last I saw her was about five hours ago. Why?"

"Because she didn't come back to school and she's not home."

"Did you try calling her?"

"Yeah, Jade has been calling her nonstop. She hasn't been picking up and this has been going on for more than an hour."

* * *

Andre began to panic; he quickly took out his car keys and ran to his car.

"Call me if you hear from her. I'm gonna drive around and look for her." he said, getting into his car and zooming off.

After driving around for over thirty minutes, Andre arrived at Cat's house to see if she somehow came back home.

But before he even got to the front door, his phone started to ring again.

This time it was Jade.

"Did you hear anything from Cat?" asked Andre, frantically, "Please tell me that you have good news."

But something was wrong. Very wrong.

Jade was slow at telling Andre what was going on.

Which further worried Andre.

"Jade… don't scare me like this." he said, trying to stay calm, "Did you hear from Cat?"

After awhile, Jade was finally able to utter one sentence.

"Meet us at Good Samaritan Hospital."

* * *

Quickly rushing to his car, Andre took off for the hospital.

_Hospital?! Hospital?! Please tell me that Cat was okay… Please tell me that she was alright…_

His mind was so blurred, he found it hard to focus at times on where he was going.

He just didn't want to arrive at that hospital and hear that something terrible had happened to Cat.

He wouldn't have been able to live with it. Not at all.

_Please, please, please, please, please let it not be something serious. Let Cat be okay… I wouldn't be able to live without her._

* * *

Andre soon arrived at the hospital and quickly ran inside of the emergency section.

Running to the nearest receptionist, he asked, "Cat Valentine! Where is Cat Valentine?!"

But before the receptionist could speak, a voice had called out to Andre.

"Andre, over here."

It was Tori, along with Beck, Jade, Robbie, and Trina.

"What's going on? Where's Cat?" asked Andre, rushing towards Tori.

Tori looked completely lost for words.

Beck was trying to comfort Jade, who was crying.

Robbie was sitting with his feet in the chair and his head held down.

And Trina was standing next to Tori, with her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Tori, please just tell me that she's okay." asked Andre, who was slowly losing hope.

Finding the right words to explain, Tori finally spoke.

"Andre… Cat was hit by a drunk driver…"

His heart stopped.

He felt as if he couldn't breathe.

"…witnesses say that she was crossing the street when… when a car came speeding through a red light… and hit her."

Andre didn't want to hear anymore, he wanted to see Cat.

"Where is she?"

"Down the hall to the left. Third room on your right."

* * *

He frantically ran down the hall, finally arriving at Cat's room door.

He was afraid to open the door.

Afraid of what he would find on the other side.

He could feel himself shaking, nervously, as he gripped the door handle.

Taking a deep breath, he opened up the door and was immediately horrified.

* * *

She was covered with cuts, bruises, bandages, and patches.

A cast was wrapped around her left arm and both of her legs.

A neck brace was snugly wrapped around her neck.

Needles providing IV were injected into her arms.

Oxygen feeding tubes were protruding from her nose.

It was completely upsetting to see her in this condition.

* * *

As he got closer to her, Andre could see that Cat had a calm, slumbering look on her face.

Her long red hair was ruffled and tangled, yet it still looked as vivid as ever.

_Even in the most horrifying condition, she still looks so beautiful._

Sitting down near her bed, Andre placed his hand on top of Cat's right hand.

"She's warm." he said, crying and smiling simultaneously, "My little ray of sunshine is warm."

* * *

"Andre… are you alright?" asked Tori, as she entered the room.

"Yeah… I'm good." he said, "I just pray that she gets better."

"The doctor said that when she arrived, she was in critical condition." said Tori, placing her hand on Andre's shoulder, "But she slowly went into a coma-like state… and the doctors have no idea how long it'll last."

"All we can do… is hope that she recovers." said Andre, as he noticed that Cat's PearPhone and giraffe pendant were placed on the table.

Picking up the pendant and placing it into Cat's hand, he muttered, "Happy fourth anniversary… Lil' Red."

Kissing her softly on the cheek, he couldn't help but wish that she would open her eyes.

And whisper, "Hi."

With a smile on her face.

As if it were the happy ending of a fairy tale.

And that everything negative that previously happened was nonexistent.

But Andre knew better.

He knew that this wasn't a fairy tale, this was reality.

Where happy endings aren't always guaranteed.

* * *

As Andre began to tear up, Tori, along with the others came into the room and group hugged around Andre.

The future felt so clouded.

Andre had no clue how good or how bad things might get.

His only wish was for Cat to make a speedy recovery.

For how could he live without his bright, little ray of sunshine?


	10. Guitar Strums and Withered Flowers

**Chapter Ten: Guitar Strums and Withered Flowers**

He woke up…

Took a shower…

Got dressed…

Strapped his sky blue guitar to his back…

And left home.

* * *

Today was Cat and Andre's one year anniversary and he was in no mood to be late.

But before he had to meet up with her, Andre had to first buy her some flowers.

Can't have an anniversary without flowers.

_Red pansies… she'll love them._

It was a bright and sunny day and Andre was feeling much, much better than how he was last year… you know, when Cat was still in the hospital.

But now all of that was over, things had finally gone back to normal.

* * *

On his way to meet up with Cat, Andre bumped into Tori.

She seemed quite surprised to see Andre carrying flowers.

"Hey… Andre. H-how are you doing?"

"Pretty good, just looking to spend some time with Cat for our anniversary."

"Oh! Forgot that was today… look, are you sure you're okay, cause…"

Andre immediately cut her off and said, "Tori, I would love to talk, but I really have to get going."

As Andre rushed past her, Tori thought, "Oh, Andre… maybe one day you'll let it go."

"Let it go"?

Let go of what?

* * *

Andre continued on his way to meet up with Cat.

As he closed in on his destination, he ran into Beck and Robbie.

"Sup, Robbie. Sup, Beck." Andre said, as he walked past them, "Can't talk right now, gotta meet up with Cat!"

The look on their faces showed that they were completely confused on what was going on.

What's so confusing about a guy meeting up with his girlfriend for their one year anniversary?

He really wanted to put a lot of effort into how he celebrates their anniversaries.

Especially considering how their fourth anniversary went.

But that was the past and this was the present.

He'd been preparing for this day for quite some time and wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

* * *

When he finally made it to his destination, he could hear the wind gently blow against the wrought iron gates.

This was the right place.

Walking through the grassy field, he finally caught sight of Cat.

She looked so beautiful.

With her long, bright red hair, pretty brown eyes and that bright yellow dress.

She couldn't have looked any more breathtaking. It was just that impossible.

"Told you I would make it in time." said Andre, sitting down on the grass, "Brought you some pansies, I remember how much you said that you loved flowers that had the same shade of red as your hair."

All Cat could do was smile.

"I knew you would love them." Andre said, as he placed the flowers down, "I also put together a song just for you… it's a bit corny, but it's from the heart."

She smiled.

Bring his acoustic guitar around, Andre began strumming it lightly, eventually playing a light melody.

"Hope you like it."

As he looked deep into Cat's eyes, he began singing.

Little redhead with the really cute smile

Wish you would come back and stay for awhile

Cause I really can't spend another day without you

Here and there

Now and then

The days go by since you were here

Really miss those tender kisses

And those warm hugs that you used to give

Remember when we were only friends

Yet we wanted something more?

Remember when we first kiss

And had each other to hold?

Those are the days that I'll always hold dear

Ever since the last time you were near

Why'd you have to go and leave me here?

Pale sunshine and cold, cold nights

Why'd you have to go and leave me here?

Promises broken and tears gone dry

Why'd you have to go and leave me here?

Mistakes were made and time gone by

Why'd you have to go and leave me here?

If only you knew how I really felt

The shame that I feel

The hate in my thought

Maybe one day, when I see you again

You could forgive me…

For all that I've done

Andre stopped playing and broke down crying.

"That was horrible. I know."

He felt so awful for how he felt.

He didn't want things to turn out like this on their anniversary.

He thought he could be better than this.

"I'm sorry, Cat. I'm so sorry." he said, looking back into Cat's eyes.

She continued to smile.

This further saddened Andre into crying again.

He continued to cry until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"That was a very nice song, Andre."

Quickly turning around, he was shocked to see Jade standing beside him.

"Jade! Umm… didn't expect to see you here."

"Beck called me and told me that you would be here." said Jade, with a look of concern, "Andre… you need to let this go."

"How can I? Hmm? It's my fault that all of this had happened." said Andre, looking at Cat smiling brightly, "If I wouldn't have kissed Fiona then…"

"I know. I know, but you can't blame yourself for this." said Jade, "You had no control over what had happened to her."

"She still would have been here, Jade. She wouldn't have ran away from school that day. She wouldn't have walked out on that road that day. She wouldn't have had to die!"

Cat continued to smile at this…

But what else could she do?

She was just a picture on a gravestone…

Turns out, Cat Valentine died several days after her accident.

During the months that followed, everyone else had moved on with their lives…

Except Andre.

He was never able to move on…

…and continued to live out the rest of his life with all of that guilt.

* * *

_***Sharp gasp***_

He woke up… this time for real.

Clutching the pillow that he laid on, he realized that he was still at the hospital.

_Must've fell asleep again._

He looked across the room and was relieved to see Cat still laying in her bed.

Several of the tubes, bandages, wraps, needles, along with the cast on her right arm were removed weeks ago.

In total, Cat has been in the hospital for almost three months.

Most of her broken bones had healed, except for the femur in both of her legs.

Andre was very thankful to hear that she had little to no damage to her spine.

It was one thing for her to still be in a coma, but another if she ever woke up paralyzed.

* * *

Looking down at his shirt, he noticed that he must've been sweating heavily while he was sleeping.

"That was one hell of a nightmare." he said to himself, as someone knocked at the door, "Come in!"

It was Tori, who was carrying a big bouquet of white flowers.

"Hey."

"Hey, Tori."

"How is she?"

"Still not responding; however she is able to breathe on her own, so the doctors took her off of the ventilator."

"Well, that's kind of a good sign." said Tori, replacing the wilted flowers on the table with the ones she brought.

"Yeah, but not good enough." said Andre, walking over to Cat and holding her hand, "I may sound impatient, but I just want for her to wake up. I-I can't stand seeing her like this anymore… It doesn't seem right for a girl that's normally bouncy and cheerful to be like this."

"Andre, calm down. She's gonna be okay and soon we'll see that bright smile that she always has."

"I hope so, but these nightmares are making things worse."

"What nightmares?"

Andre explained the series of nightmares that he's been having the past couple of weeks. Each one ending with either Cat never waking up, being paralyzed for the rest of her life, or his recent nightmare, Cat dying.

"…turns out it was just a picture of her on a gravestone. A gravestone! It's like I'm being punished or something."

"Punished for what? You had nothing to do with Cat's accident and that's all it was, an accident."

"Tori… if Cat didn't catch me kissing Fiona, she wouldn't have left the school. Which means she wouldn't have been out on that street. But what kills me the most is that the last thing that she said to me was that we were taking a break and that it was best for the both of us."

Tori followed Andre back to the couch near the window.

"Andre…"

"I guessing she didn't plan on it being a three month break." said Andre, taking out his guitar pendant, "Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time to the moment where she gave me this pendant."

"Why is that?"

"It was the very last time that I remember seeing her really, really happy and she had a big smile on her face as I was opening my present. I could tell that she put a lot of time and effort in picking these pendants for us. They really meant a lot to her… and they mean a lot to me, as well." he said, turning over the pendant to see the engraving, "She had so much hope in our relationship, even though we made mistakes. She only wanted to take a break to spare us the pain of possibly breaking up."

Tori placed her hand on Andre's shoulder and said, "I highly doubt the two of you would have broken up. There is just so much love between the two of you. You could see it whenever the two of you were together."

Andre chuckled and said, "You're right, you're absolutely right. Which is why when she does wake up, I'm going to show her how much I care about her and how she's the only girl that I will ever need."

* * *

As he said that, a brief hum could be heard.

"Shh! You heard that?" asked Tori, as they looked around the room.

"Yeah, it couldn't be the TV, it's on mute." Andre said, looking at the TV.

"Can't be my phone, I would have felt it." said Tori, taking her phone out.

Once again, the hum could be heard in the room.

"That can't be coming from the equipment, I would have been heard it… no, this is something different." he said, standing near Cat.

The hum was heard once again and it surprised Tori and Andre from where it came.

"Tori…?"

"I heard it, too. But I don't believe it."

"It has to be. It just has to be."

The location of the humming was coming from none other than Cat.

Andre's face lit up when he heard her hum again.

"She's waking up. She's waking up!" he said excitedly, as he held Cat's hand, "C'mon, Lil' Red, you're so close! You can do this!"

They could see that Cat was slowly trying to open up her eyes.

Seeing this happen, Tori left the room to get a doctor.

After awhile, Andre saw Cat's eyes open up a bit… and then slowly close back again.

"Wait, wait! No! Cat don't… you was so close." he said, as Tori and a doctor came into the room.

"She was humming and trying to open her eyes." Tori told the doctor.

"She did open her eyes, but then she closed them." said Andre, as the doctor examined Cat, "Do you think she's getting closer to waking up?"

"Considering that this is the first time she's responded in months, I would say that it's very likely." said the doctor, "We'll just have to keep a very close eye on her."

"Thanks." said Tori, as the doctor left the room.

"She was so close Tori. So very close." Andre said, holding his pendant, "Just keep fighting Cat. Don't give up… I won't."

Deep in Cat's mind, she could faintly hear Andre talking.

"Don't you worry. I'm not giving up. Not on myself and definitely not on us. Not ever."


	11. You're Weird But I Like You

**Chapter Eleven: You're Weird... But I Like You**

He was able to sleep a little better at night.

"A little."

Ever since he saw Cat so close to waking up, Andre has been feeling hopeful that she was finally about to wake up.

It was only yesterday that she almost woke up.

Maybe today would be the lucky day.

Third period had just ended and Andre found himself at his locker staring at a picture of Cat and him hugging.

_Sure could use one of your warm hugs right now. It would sure brighten up my day._

At that moment, Beck had walked up to Andre and asked, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good… just waiting for this day to end."

"Same here."

Andre began shuffling his books around and said, "I'm guessing you heard that Cat is finally starting to wake up."

"Yeah, Jade told me last night." said Beck, leaning against the lockers, "I can only hope that she wakes up soon; not only for herself, but for you as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Out of all of us, you are the one that's hurting the most. At times, you can even tell that you're trying to hide how you're really feeling. It changed you."

Andre slammed his locker door.

"Okay, I get what you're saying. Cat's current situation has… changed me a bit, but I can't just get all emotional and walk around upset… I can't live like that."

"No one is saying for you to be emotional all the time. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't let all that emotion bottle up inside of you. It could ruin your life… and I'm pretty sure that Cat wouldn't want that to happen."

Andre sighed heavily and then chuckled, "She would have told me to not be sad and then try her best to tell me a joke; it probably wouldn't have been funny, but it was always nice to see her try."

Remembering some of the jokes that Cat told him, made him smile.

_What do you get when you cross a duck and a rooster?_

_A bird that gets up at the quack of dawn._

* * *

_How did the police scare the bugs away?_

_They called the S.W.A.T team._

* * *

_What did one plate say to the other?_

"_Dinner's on me tonight!"_

* * *

_How do you fire a Social Studies teacher?_

_Tell him he's history!_

Sure, some of those were… pretty corny, but that didn't matter to Andre.

They were special to him.

"We've better get to class soon." said Beck, as they left from their lockers, "Can't afford to be late again."

"Got that right." said Andre, arriving in front of their Biology class.

* * *

To Andre's disdain, his least favorite person in the world, Thomas Elliot, had this class as well.

"'Sup, Andre! Didn't think you would even show up." Thomas said, as Andre and Beck walked pass him, "So that's how you gonna be? Okay, I'm not too sure that your little girlfriend would be happy with your lack of manners."

Andre stopped dead in his track, fighting the urge to turn around.

"Don't let him get to you." said Beck, "He's just trying to egg you on."

"I know, but…" said Andre, as they walked to the other side of the hallway, away from Thomas, "He's just asking for it."

This obviously didn't stop Thomas from agitating Andre.

"Dude's been completely out of it for months." said Thomas, to his friends, "I guess that's what you get for hanging out with a crazy redhead. But this guy didn't stop there. I mean, its one thing to actually hang out with her… but to fuck her, too?"

Thomas and his friends burst out into laughter.

Because of this, they weren't able to hear Andre slamming his books on the ground and walking towards them.

_**TWHACK!**_

Andre punched Thomas with all of his might, causing Thomas to fall.

Blood slowly dripped from Thomas' nose and a look of shock was on his face.

So much intensity, so much anger, so much hatred flowed through Andre.

He then jumped on top of Thomas and began punching him… punching him so much that Andre began losing control over himself.

_**TWHACK! TWHACK! TWHACK!**_

The more Andre punched him, the more Thomas began to lose consciousness.

It wasn't until Beck struggled to pull him off of Thomas, that Andre began to realize what was going on.

"Andre! Andre! Calm down!" yelled Beck, as he forced Andre down the hall, "You need to calm down!"

* * *

They stepped into the janitor's closet for some privacy away from the crowd of students rushing to see what had happened.

With all of the rage that he kept bottled up released, Andre found himself sitting on the floor, fuming.

"That was completely out of line!" he said, as he sat there, "She's in the hospital for Christ sake! And he just… talks about her like that. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

"I know, I know. Thomas is a real ass, but you can't let your anger get the best of you." said Beck, leaning against the sink, "You could have killed him with all that rage and then you would have had some more problems to worry about."

Andre just sat there with his head down.

"Now do you see what I was talking about?" Beck continued, "Holding back all that guilt and anger is dangerous and Thomas knew he could take advantage of that. That's why you've got to calm down and let all of that tension go."

"Easy for you to say… you don't have some guy calling Jade a "Gothic bitch" or cracking jokes about her."

"That's because Jade is capable of taking care of herself… that and she would do some very unspeakable things to the guys who would dare to call her that."

At this, Beck and Andre shared a brief laugh.

_**Brrrrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrrrrg Brrrrrrrrrrg**_

"Speak of the devil. It's Jade." Beck said, answering his phone to see the text he got from her, "And she says that Principal Eikner wants to see you."

Andre sighed heavily and said, "Great… can't wait to see how well this goes."

* * *

Cat Valentine sat at her desk.

Bored with what was going on; wishing she was somewhere else.

She sighed heavily because she was the only one in the classroom.

For as long as she could remember, this empty room is where she has always been.

Isolated from everyone else.

But every so often, she was able to hear the faint voices of people.

One voice in particular, gave her so much hope.

"Andre is out there. He's waiting for me to wake up." said Cat, getting out of her seat, "But how do I get out?"

Cat had tried to get out several times, but has failed all but once.

She had somehow found her way out due to being able to hear Andre's voice, but for some reason, she was pulled back in.

"I'll just have to try harder this time." she said, standing by the door which lead to the hallway, "Think! Think! Think about hearing Andre's voice!"

Trying to recreate what had helped her escape the first time, Cat began to imagine hearing Andre's voice in her head.

_It doesn't matter, I'm just glad that you made it._

_Beautiful… I just want you to know, you're my favorite girl._

_Why be anywhere else… when I can be here with you?_

_I love you, Cat Valentine… don't ever forget that._

Hearing his voice again brought Cat to tears. The feeling was overwhelming to her.

She'd missed being with him… despite the mistakes they both made.

_**Click!**_

* * *

Hearing the door unlock, Cat quickly opened it to see what was an empty hallway.

"I'm close, but still so far away." she said, cautiously walking down the hall.

As she continued down the hall, she noticed that there were several doors that were slightly opened.

"Maybe one of these could get me out of here." she said, opening the door that read "Day One."

* * *

It was another classroom, but this one was full of students.

Not teenagers, but little kids.

Second graders to be exact.

Looking around the classroom, Cat realized where she was.

"It's Mrs. Lindsay's class!" she said, as some kids ran past her.

"They can't see me." Cat said, walking over to the far side of the class.

It didn't take her too long to recognize someone familiar.

A little girl with long, curly brown hair was sitting in the corner of the room. She looked sad and was playing with Barbie doll and a Stormtroooper.

Cat had forgot how lonely she was during her earlier years of elementary school.

Even though she tried to make friends, no one wanted to hang out with her.

They found her _different._

"She's so weird." whispered one girl, "It's like she's from another planet."

"Another planet? If that's true, then I hope she goes back to it." said another girl, making sure that everyone heard her, "She creeps me out."

Cat could see her younger self trying to keep from crying. She hated having to relive this, it was painful enough to go through it once, but to see it again… it was awful.

* * *

But before Cat had the chance to leave the room, Mrs. Lindsay had an announcement to make.

"Attention, class! Attention!" she said, "We have a new student joining us today."

Standing in front of Mrs. Lindsay was a boy with perfectly cut hair.

"Tell the class your name and how old you are." said Mrs. Lindsay.

"My name is Andrew Harris and I'm eight years old." said the little boy, with his hands in his pocket.

_I forgot that Andre didn't get the dreads in his hair until fifth grade… he was so cute as a little kid._

"Now I want everyone to be nice to Andrew and show him just how wonderful we're all are." said Mrs. Lindsay, "Andrew, the class is having free time right now, so you can go play with the racecars, or color some pictures, or anything you like."

"Okay." said Andrew, as he walked over to the box full of racecars.

Cat began to remember exactly what was going to happen.

_This is where it all begins…_

* * *

As Andrew reached to grab the box of racecars, he accidentally knocked over a box of Legos which narrowly missed Caterina's head.

Taking her completely by surprise, Caterina jumped out of her seat.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Andrew said, as he helped Caterina get up from the floor.

"It's okay, I'm well." said Caterina, shyly.

"Since when have you ever been "well"?" said a boy.

"I would stay away from her if I were you." said another boy.

"Don't let her loony get on you!" said a girl.

The class burst into laughter and chanted "loony, loony, loony" as Caterina left the classroom and went onto the playground.

Cat followed her outside and saw the scene change.

* * *

It was later that day and Caterina was sitting under a tree, crying.

_This was after lunch… yeah, this was after that fat kid threw chocolate milk in my face._

Cat could see that the other kids were busy by the playground, but one kid strayed away from the rest.

"Are you okay?" asked Andrew, walking towards Caterina.

"I told you, I'm fine."

"But you're crying."

"So what? I cry when I'm happy."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So you're happy when they tease you?"

"Mmhmm, I don't care about what they think of me."

"That's pretty cool." said Andrew, sitting under the tree.

Caterina found it strange for someone to actually take the time to talk to her… especially a new student.

"Did one of them get you to come over here? Because its not funny." she said, as something shifted around under her sweater.

"No, I came here because I still feel bad for what happened earlier."

"Can you just let that go? I told you I'm fine, I'm used to it." said Caterina, trying to keep whatever it was from moving around.

"What is that?" Andrew asked, as something orange and fuzzy poked out from her sweater.

"It's a cat I found yesterday. For some reason, it won't stop following me." she said, as the orange cat purred, "I sometimes keep it under my sweater to keep me cozy."

Andrew never saw anything like this before.

This girl was indeed weird.

But he found her interesting.

"You're weird… but I like you." he said.

Hearing this made Caterina smile.

"What's your name?"

"Caterina… Caterina Valentine." she said, try to keep from smiling.

"That's a pretty name, Caterina." Andrew said, while petting the orange cat, "It's funny how the word _Cat_ is in your name and you have a cat right now."

Caterina laughed and said, "That is funny! Ha ha, just call me Cat. It's much shorter and funnier."

The two of them laughed, while the cat purred loudly.

* * *

Trying to remember the boy's name, Caterina said, "Andre, right?"

"Close, it's Andrew… but Andre doesn't sound too bad." said Andrew, "I've always hated my name, but I guess you've changed that."

Andrew looked at Caterina and smiled, which made her blush a bit.

"No one has ever been this friendly to me."

"Then consider me your very first friend."

The touching moment under the tree ended when Mrs. Lindsay announced that recess was over.

"C'mon, Cat! Last one back to class is a rotten egg!" said Andrew, as he took off running.

Letting the cat out from under her sweater, Caterina said, "Not if I get there first, Andre!"

The two playfully ran back to class, but before Cat could see who won the race, the scene changed.

* * *

"This is really ridiculous." said Andre, as Tori, Robbie, Jade and Beck stood by his car in the school parking lot.

"It's completely unfair." said Tori.

Andre had found himself suspended for two weeks because of his actions.

Thankfully, Principle Eikner left it only at that on the fact that it was the first time that Andre has acted out.

"What gets me is how that asshole get to still walk about the school." said Jade, furiously.

"But at least he has a black eye and a bloody nose to go with his ugly attitude." said Andre, still feeling glad for what he had done.

Taking out his car keys, Andre threw his book bag in the backseat before getting in.

"Where are you going?" asked Robbie.

"Unlike the rest of you, I no longer have school for the rest of the day… so I'm going back to the hospital."

"As soon as school is over, we'll all come visit." said Tori, as Andre turned on his car.

"Thanks, see ya then." he said, as he drove off the lot.

* * *

On his way to the hospital, Andre began to wonder.

_If I was given one chance to fix all of this, I would do it in a heartbeat. I would make sure that things wouldn't have gotten this bad. Because I can't just go on living like this. Living in anger and despair. That's not living at all. I have to keep having faith that Cat will wake up… but I have to somehow… get use to the possibility of what will happen if she never wake up or worse. I can't let it eat at me until it kills me. I couldn't go on living that way. I just can't._

* * *

Cat had just spent what felt like a lifetime going through nearly 3,720 of the days that she has known Andre.

She had just gotten out of the memory of when her dog had died earlier last year.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, she said, "Really didn't want to relive that again."

As she continued down the empty hall, she came across the door which lead outside.

Written on the door were the words "_That One Day..." _and "_Enter At Own Risk"_.

"This just has to be my way to get out of her permanently." Cat said, as she pushed the door opened.

* * *

"_Those feelings are never gone. I wanted to be with you so much during those days and it hurt so much when you kept rejecting me."_

"_I was stupid back then and I will always regret that. But these feelings that I have now… they won't go away easily."_

"_Why couldn't you have been like this years ago? You have such horrible timing."_

"_How about now?"_

* * *

Cat found herself quickly turning around to open up the door, but found that it was locked.

"Come on! Come on! Open up!" she panicked, fearing turning around.

She knew what was going on behind her, yet she lacked the strength to face it again.

"I can't… I just can't." she said, crying and holding onto the doorknob.

She couldn't bare to see Andre and Fiona kissing again.

Not again, not ever.

_But this is the way out… this is what was holding me back. This moment. This brief moment that has changed everything. This moment which lead to us taking a break and me being distracted while crossing that road. *sighs* I can't let this haunt me for the rest of my life. I can't let this keep me from waking up out of this coma. I can't let this keep me from being with Andre!_

Cat turned around to see Fiona close to kissing Andre.

Right before their lips were about to touch, Cat pulled Fiona out of the way and kissed Andre with every bit of emotion that filled her.

Even though the kiss wasn't with the real Andre, it was still real enough to Cat.

She felt warm.

Relaxed.

Cheerful.

And relieved that she had finally overcame her fear.

* * *

Andre, while sitting in a chair, had fallen asleep while laying his head on Cat's bed.

With his arms on the bed and his head resting on top of them, he was awoken by the gentle feel that grazed his right hand.

The last thing he remembered before sleeping was laying his head down on Cat's bed and holding her hand.

As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that Cat was awake, gently rubbing his hand and smiling at him.

"Hey." he said, sleepily.

"Hey." she responded, smiling.

"This isn't a dream… is it?"

"No, I'm really awake."

"Good." Andre said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

They both found it hard to hold back their excitement.

It wasn't until Andre made the first move and hugged Cat that the two of them busted into tears.

"You're really awake, you're really here." Andre said, realizing that this was real.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." said Cat, cheerfully.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." said Andre, as the door opened.

It was Tori, Beck, Jade, and Robbie; each with a look of amazement and shock on their face.

"She's awake!" yelled Jade, as she rushed in to hug Cat, "You're actually awake!"

"It's so good to see you awake, Cat." said Tori, who started to cry.

As the rest of them came around to hug her, Cat couldn't help but feel thankful that she had such an amazing group of friends for her to return to… including the one guy that was a huge importance in her life.


	12. All The Time In The World

_**Had a very bad case of writer's block with this fic, but I finally have it all together. Sorry for the very long wait. **_

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: All The Time In The World**

"Finally! I get to go home!"

It's been five days since Cat Valentine woke up.

Since both of her legs had completely healed, she was told that she would finally be able to leave today.

Although she still had to ride around in a wheelchair from time to time due to her legs being slightly sore.

She paid no mind to it. She was just thankful to finally be leaving from that dreadful hospital room, and to finally be able to hang out with her friends again.

You see, since Cat woke up, her parents prevented them from visiting her.

It was something about them wanting her to recover without any distractions.

This gave Cat more reason to want to go home.

That and she still had to mend things with a special someone.

* * *

"Andre, did you remember to pick up the cake from the bakery?"

"Yup, picked it up an hour ago." he answered, going into the kitchen to show the cake to Jade, "Red velvet with vanilla frosting. Just like you asked."

On the cake was written:

**_Welcome Home, Cat!_**

"Good. Hopefully this _Welcome Home_ party goes off smoothly." she said, calmly glancing at the cake, "Cause if it doesn't, heads will roll."

Walking away, she gave Andre a dirty look and began helping Beck put up streamers around Cat's living room.

She was still a little pissed at Andre for kissing Fiona. Especially since its what caused Cat to run out of the school that day.

Jade even went as far as to say that he should have been the one to get hit by the car.

However, this was said on the night of the accident, and she was emotionally traumatized at the moment.

She later apologized for saying it, but remained upset with Andre.

It wasn't until Cat finally woke up that Jade slowly began to ease off of him.

* * *

"What time is she supposed to get here?" asked Robbie, bringing a bunch of balloons into the living room, "I thought it was at three o'clock."

"No, she gets here at five. Which gives us an hour to finish things here." answered Jade, taking some of the balloons from him and scattering them across the ceiling.

The front door unexpectedly opened, catching Andre, Jade, Beck, and Robbie by surprise.

As each of them scrambled to find a place to hide, a familiar voice rang through the halls.

"Guys? Where are you?"

"False alarm, it's just Tori." said Beck, coming out from behind the sofa.

"Vega? Why didn't you ring the doorbell?" Jade asked, moving out from under the table, "And why are you late?"

"Sorry, it took me awhile to get the food." said Tori, stumbling into the room while carrying the pizza, chicken wings, ice cream, and bread sticks, "A little help here?"

Robbie and Beck rushed to help Tori from dropping any of the food.

Feeling relieved, Tori asked, "What time is Cat getting here?"

"An hour from now." replied Andre, walking out of the kitchen, carrying three liters of soda, "Plenty of time to make sure that things here are perfect."

Tori could sense that her best friend was pretty anxious about the redhead's long awaited return.

* * *

"Hey… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm psyched." he answered, placing the sodas on the table.

"Good. So I guess you already know what you're gonna say to Cat when she gets here?"

"Yeah… I do. I'll say… I'll say…" he stumbled, not finding any words to put together.

"Why are you so nervous?"

"I don't know! I just am." he whispered, as Jade walked by them, "I'm excited that she's coming home, but I honestly don't know what to say or do when she actually gets here."

"Why not say something along the lines of "Hey, Cat. Gosh you're look pretty. Wanna get back together?" Tori said, jokingly.

"I wish, but it seems like its too soon to ask her." Andre replied, as Tori and he walked out into the hallway, "I don't even know if she remembers that we… took a break or if she still wants it to continue."

"Let me ask you something; do you want to get back with Cat?"

"Yes."

"And what was the main goal of the break?"

"For me to choose between her and Fiona."

"And who did you choose?"

"Cat! Cat all the way!"

"Well there ya go! Now you have nothing else to doubt about."

"You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm in love with that girl and these past months have really shown that." said Andre, feeling confident.

"Good, now all you have to do is wait for the right moment to just ask her." Tori said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Just ask and don't be afraid."

"Hey! Why are you two just standing there?!"

Jade's yelling frightened everyone in the room; it even caused Andre and Tori to hold each other in fear.

"Stop hugging each other and go help Beck put up the banner!"

"Bossy." whispered Andre.

"Slave driver." muttered Tori.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" they both shouted, as they ran to help Beck with the_ Welcome Home_ banner.

* * *

It was five minutes before five o'clock and the gang had finally finish setting up for the party.

It was only a matter of time before the little redhead arrived.

Andre sat calmly near the window, trying not to look at the time.

But it was no use, he longed to finally hear that door open.

After two more minutes of silent boredom, he finally saw a car pulling up in the driveway.

"They're here! They're here!" he yelled, as they all rushed around to find a hiding place... again.

Tori crouched behind the purple armchair.

Andre hid behind the sofa near the window.

Beck shrouded himself behind some curtains.

Jade snuck behind the open living room door.

And Robbie... well, Robbie rolled up in the rug that was in the middle of the room.

"Tori! Turn off the lights!" whispered Beck, from behind the curtains.

Just as Tori switched off the room's lights, the front door opened.

The voices of Cat's parents could be heard.

* * *

"Finally, home sweet home." said Mrs. Valentine, "Honey, be careful with bringing her in here. The wheels might get caught up in the carpet tears."

Mr. Valentine could be heard entering the house, "Well it's not my fault that our son wanted to start a carpet mowing business in our house."

Andre's heart leapt from the voice that he heard next.

"What happened to his cow whispering business?" asked Cat, as their voices got closer to the living room.

"It didn't work out so well." sighed Mr. Valentine, "He's now banned from being near horses _and_ cows. Please don't ask why."

As the three finally entered the room, Cat asked, "Why is it so dark in here?"

Mrs. Valentine turned on the lights to which everyone jumped out from their hiding places.

* * *

**SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME!**

Cat instantly screamed with excitement at seeing all of her friends there.

She'd never felt more thrilled then at that moment.

"Aw! You guys shouldn't have!" beamed Cat, as her dad pushed her to the table to see the red velvet cake and tons of food.

"We had to make sure that you have the best _Welcome Home_ party that anyone has ever had." said Robbie, giving Cat a hug.

"And we all wanted to spend the whole day just partying with you!" said Tori, excitedly.

* * *

All of this was exhilarating to hear, but Cat couldn't help wondering why Andre stood farthest from her.

From the looks of it, he was glad that she was there, but was afraid to get any closer to her.

As a matter of fact, for most of the party, Andre kept his distance from her.

It wasn't until she eavesdropped on Beck and Andre's conversation in the kitchen, that she found out why he was like this.

While Tori, Robbie, and Jade were busy setting up the PlayStation 3 to play _Everybody Dance! 4: Now With More Dancing!_, Andre and Beck were throwing away paper plates and plastic cups.

* * *

"Hey, Cat's looking pretty cute, huh? Huh?." said Beck, nudging Andre.

"Yeah... she sure is." responded Andre, aimlessly throwing a plastic cup on the floor.

"What's the matter?" asked Beck, picking up the plastic cup, "You should be jumping for joy right now."

"I know. I know, it's just that an hour ago, I felt confident enough to ask Cat if we can get back together."

"But?..."

"But now that she's actually here, I just can't do it. She looks so happy out there and I don't want to bring up any drama to ruin the night."

Beck gave a look of understanding and said, "So how long are you going to wait before you ask her?"

"I don't know, but I'm definitely not telling her tonight." Andre replied, tying up the stuffed trash bag, "I'd best take this outside."

Leaving the kitchen to take the trash outside, Andre spent a couple of minutes sitting on the bench that was under a tree in Cat's backyard.

He just needed some fresh air while under the beautiful evening sky.

The sight of it brought a soothing affect over Andre.

He couldn't place his finger on it, but he just felt like all of his problems had gone away and that somehow, things were going to be alright.

* * *

"Needed some fresh air, too?"

Gazing down from the darkening sky, Andre could see the outline of a short girl slowly walking towards him.

Oddly, the lamppost that stood closest to the bench flickered on, illuminating the girl.

"Cat? What are you doing here?" questioned Andre, baffled by how pretty she'd looked under the night sky.

Cat Valentine looked slightly different from how she used to look.

For one thing, her hair was much longer now and she had it straightened.

This gave her a somewhat mature look.

She did this mainly because she wanted to try something new and because she liked how long her hair grew while she was in a coma.

"Just felt like getting away from the party for a minute." she said, sitting next to Andre, "Robbie and Tori were about to start a dance battle against each other, so you know how those can get."

"Yeah, Tori would win and Robbie would pout and cry." Andre laughed, as Cat chuckled with him, "Remember that time he'd dance so hard that he ripped his pants by trying to do a split?"

"Oh! That was so funny!" giggled Cat, "He had trouble getting back up so we had to call an ambulance for him."

"And for the next three days, he spoke in a falsetto voice."

"He sounded so much like an opera singer!"

Cat and Andre found enjoyment out of Robbie's hilariously embarrassing moments.

As minutes flew by and stories were brought up, the two quickly forgot about the party that was still going on.

* * *

"Wow, it's been thirty minutes, maybe we should get back to the party." said Andre, glancing at the time on his phone and getting up.

Cat simply sat there and spoke, "Andre, I know what you wanted to ask me."

Andre just stood there, unable to form any words.

"Please... sit." Cat added, patting the bench and waiting for Andre to sit back down, "I heard you talking to Beck earlier, so I know you want to ask if we can get back together."

But before Andre could say anything, Cat began speaking again.

"Let me finish, cause I really must say this. I forgive you. I forgive all that you've done and all that I've done. These past couple of days have given me time to think. I don't want to be mad at you or hold our past mistakes against us. I want things between us to be good."

Andre was relieved to hear this.

He didn't get much time to talk with Cat when she first woke up and to hear that she had forgiven him?

It gave him hope.

"So where does that put us?" he asked tentatively, sighing deeply.

"I want to get back with you... so badly, but I can't right now." said Cat, holding a strong composure, "I need some more time to think about us, and to think about where I want to be. Is that okay with you?"

All Andre could do was smile, "Of course, it's okay with me. I can't tell you how delighted I am to hear this."

Cat felt herself smiling as well. It was nice to have a serious conversation without it ending in tears or heartbreak.

"As long as we still have a chance, even if its an extremely tiny chance, then you have all the time in the world to think." beamed Andre, getting up.

"Good to see you feel that way." smiled Cat, getting up as well and hugging him.

For a brief moment, she'd felt the connection between them.

The connection that she had miss having.

But then she remembered to take things slow before rushing back with Andre.

"Let's hurry up and get back to that dancing battle." she laughed, as she hurried across the yard, "Ow!"

Cat had to stop running for a second. She slowly sat down on the grass, rubbing right thigh.

"What? What is it?!" worried Andre, rushing toward Cat.

"Nothing, it's just I shouldn't be running just yet." she said, getting back to her feet, "My legs are still a bit sore."

It was at that moment that an idea came to Andre.

"How about I carry you inside?"

For a second, Cat felt unsure of this.

"I'm good. I'm getting used to it."

"Cat... I promise you, it won't be awkward." said Andre, reassuring Cat that he was solely carrying her as a friendly gesture, not in a "kissing up" way, "Now hop on my back."

Thinking it over, Cat decided to just go with it. She hopped onto Andre's back and he proceeded to carry her back into the house.

* * *

The rest of the party went off smoothly.

Tori won the dance battle against Robbie.

Which ended with Robbie crying, locking himself in the bathroom and having to be consoled by Beck for a good twenty minutes before he would come out.

Jade and Cat sang an intense duet on _Karaoke Wars 2: Remix/The Extended Cut_, that just had to be followed by an even more intense encore.

The night pretty much ended after several games of _Twister_, which ended when Andre causing everyone to fall.

He claimed like someone tickled his belly. Which everyone thought was funny.

"But I'm serious, someone did tickle me." he laughed, as everyone was leaving.

"Yeah, right. Stop being a sore loser." said Robbie, as he got on his bike.

"Robbie, you have no reason to talk." Beck remarked, while he and Jade got into his car.

"Try learning how to dance and maybe Tori wouldn't beat you every time." added Jade, as they drove off.

"That's Jade for ya." laughed Cat, while Andre and Tori were saying goodbye to each other.

"I'll call you later!" he shouted, as Tori got in her car and left, "Well, did you have a good time?"

* * *

It took Cat a second to answer Andre.

She didn't know why.

It was just strange to be on her front porch with him... alone.

"Yeah, it was the best night ever." she said, looking away from him.

It was awkwardly quiet for a brief moment, until Andre spoke up.

"I guess I'll be going."

"Okay... I'll talk to you later." replied Cat, walking back into her house, "I'll be thinking about you."

"I'll be thinking about you, too. Lil' Red." smiled Andre, walking backwards and then turning around, slowly making his way to his car.

"Oh, yeah! One more thing!" shouted Cat, before Andre got into his car, "I was the one who tickled you!"

As Cat gently closed the door, she felt giddy.

She could softly hear Andre yell, "I knew it! I knew it!"

Cat laughed at this, but her mind shifted to something else that Andre said.

_He called me Lil' Red._

Practically glowing, she walked up the stairs, but stopped halfway up.

Pulling out her giraffe pendant which she kept concealed, she thought, _Guess t__here is some hope for us after all. _


End file.
